Priorities
by FandomPrincess246
Summary: I was dragged into this apocalypse without any consent, obviously. My mom's dead and my dad's missing. There's no electricity, barely any supplies, and walkers everywhere. Unluckily for me, people roam those streets too, with bad intentions. I have only one priority and that's survival. Nothing's gonna change that. My name is Roslyn and this is about my life among the dead.
1. The Dead Walk

Chapter 1

A car zoomed down the street, the teen inside eyeing the rode carefully as she drove. '_This is definitely the worst day ever!'_ She thought pouting as she approached a red light. She took out her phone quickly, still glancing at the light to know when it would change.

"Hey mom, gonna be late picking you up." She murmured as she typed, sending the message and putting her phone down as the light turned to green. The girl seemed hurried, so it added to the reasons why she didn't notice how empty the road was. She soon pulled in front of a tall building where her mother worked. Sitting back in her seat, the girl sighed and got out her phone again.

"Where are you?" She sent the text, scrolling through the number of others she'd sent her mother that day. It wouldn't have been odd if her mom had answered, but she hadn't. The entire day, the teen's mother hadn't answered her calls, texts, and hasn't come home for lunch as she always did. That alone caused the girl's mind to wander. It was then she chose not to wonder and get her mom herself, exiting the car with little to no hesitation. Backpack slung carelessly over her shoulder, the girl went up to the building and opened the front doors. The first thing to greet her was the dark. '_Weird…_' She thought, taking a wary step forward. Luckily, with the time of day it was, enough light streamed through the windows to allow her to see the room clearly. Unfortunately, it allowed her to see the room clearly. Blood was splattered across the floor and on the walls, desks were knocked over, and papers littered the floor. The girl looked around in horror, holding a hand over her mouth as she took another shaky step forward.

"Mom…?" She managed to say, her voice shaky and uncertain as she slowly walked forward. She heard a low groan and looked around frantically.

"M-Mom?" She saw someone laying on the ground, leaning against a wall as their head moved slightly.

"Mom!" The girl ran forward until she was crouching in front of her mother, worriedly looking her over.

"Mom! Oh my gosh, are you hurt? What happened here?!" The girl asked. Her mom groaned again and turned up to look at the terrified teenager. She gasped at the sight before her. In her hurry to check on her, the girl hadn't noticed the large, gaping wounds in her mothers shoulders and abdomen along with the cold, lifeless eyes that stared back at her. A milky white that wasn't normal for any person the girl had ever met. Anyone living, anyway.

"Mom?!" Her mother lunged forward, teeth bared and arms reaching forward to grab the girl as she screamed and fell backwards. What was once her mother growled, crawling forward as her daughter shrieked and desperately tried to escape. _'What the heck happened?!'_ She thought, looking around for someone or something to help her. Her back hit a wall and the girl whimpered as the remains of her mother crawled closer to her. She closed her eyes, awaiting death's cold, cool grasp. A gunshot fired off and the girl opened her eyes to see her mother laying in front of her, dead. A single bullet leaving a hole in the side of her head.

"Roslyn!" The girl, Roslyn, looked up and saw a woman standing over her with a worried and surprised expression.

"Carley! What happened? What's going on?" Roslyn asked, standing up and warily eyeing the gun in Carley's hand.

"I'd tell you if I knew! All I know is, we have to get out of here, now!" Carley grabbed Roslyn's hand with her free one and burst from the building, practically dragging the poor girl down the street.

"Where the heck are we going? What happened to my mom?…why did you shoot her?!"

"First of all, being quiet is a good idea! Second, that wasn't your mom…not anymore."

"What are you talking about?!" Roslyn tore her arm from Carley's grip, standing in front of her as a range of emotions ran through her dark blue eyes. Carley stared silently back at Roslyn, a sorry look on her face that said it all yet said nothing at the same time.

"What are you talking about?" Roslyn asked, slower this time, as she looked over at Carley, her eyes filled with confusion and worry.

"Roslyn…I'm so sorry." Was all Carley could say. Roslyn felt tears prickling at the edges of her eyes and instantly turned her gaze to the ground.

"It's okay, Roslyn. Shh…I'm here. I'm here." Carley walked over to the teen, instinctively wrapping her arms around the girl protectively as she felt tears hit her white dress shirt._ 'Mom…she's dead. No. She was dead before the gun went off. What's going on?'_ Carley released Roslyn, holding her shoulders as she spoke in a soft tone.

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry about this. I promise, once we find somewhere to hide, I'll explain as much as I can." Roslyn nodded, wiping her eyes as she looked up at Carley. Carley was always like family to Roslyn, working closely with her mother and acting like an aunt of sorts. Her and Roslyn's mother had been good friends before…this. Thinking about it just pained Roslyn more as she quietly followed Carley down the street.

"Where are we going?" She asked quietly.

"Somewhere. Hopefully with supplies."

"Why do we need supplies? Supplies for what?"

"This…THING going on around us…this isn't normal. People have been fleeing the city, shops have been robbed, and people have been…"

"People have been what?"

"Eaten."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. What I do understand is that people are dying and a handful are turning into what your mom is…was."

"How come I didn't know about this sooner?"

"You guys don't live in the city. You couldn't have known. Besides, the school's been shut down for awhile, so you couldn't have even come here."

"…why is this happening?"

"I wish I knew." Roslyn nodded, looking around as she followed Carley in complete silence. After awhile, Roslyn noticed a small group of people following them and alerted Carley. Her eyes widened and she grabbed Roslyn's arm, running as fast as she could while dragging the now scared teenager behind her. Growls and groans were heard from all directions as Carley dragged Roslyn down the street, the sound of her heels mixing with the sound of Roslyn's sneakers hitting the pavement. One of the zombies grabbed Roslyn's ankle and she screamed, covering her mouth instantly as she fell to the ground. Carley tried to shoot the zombie, but her gun was jammed and she watched in horror as Roslyn tried to fight of the walking corpse. A guns of went off and Roslyn watched in surprise as the corpse dropped dead. After Carley helped her up, the two girls turned to see who'd fired a gun. A man stood there, with neat brown hair and matching colored eyes, a pistol held shakily in his hands. The gun fell from his hands as he swore loudly, eyes locked on the zombies behind Roslyn and Carley.

"Dang it!" Roslyn yelled, listening as Carley got the gun working and began shooting at the corpses.

"Roslyn! Go!" She ordered, still shooting at the corpses as Roslyn watched, her feet like stone, keeping her in place.

"C'mon!" The guy who'd saved her snapped Roslyn out of it and, after another look at Carley, she ran after the guy.

"What about Carley?! We can't just leave her there!" Roslyn shouted.

"She looks like she'll be fine!" The man yelled back. Roslyn stopped in her tracks, her lips set in a thin line as she stared at the stranger.

"I'm not leaving without Carley. If you wanna be such a coward, fine. Be my guest." Roslyn looked around until she saw what she was searching for. The gun the man had dropped. It wasn't far from where she now stood. If she ran…

"Roslyn or whatever your name is! Stop!" The guy called after her, but his pleas fell upon deaf ears as Roslyn scooped the gun up in her hands and aimed. Without any hesitation, she fired, a bullet soaring from the barrel of the gun and straight into one of the zombie's forehead. It fell along with the next few that dropped at both Roslyn and Carley's hands.

"Don't. Mess. With. Me." Roslyn gritted her teeth, walking forward as she shot more corpses until she stood side by side with Carley.

"I'm not staying here. You're either coming with me and the cowardly lion, or getting attacked." Roslyn shot another zombie. Carley managed a smile and nodded, running behind Roslyn as she raced back to the guy, who'd stuck around and now ran side by side with the duo.

***Days later***

Roslyn woke up slowly but surely, sitting up and stretching as she looked at her group. After escaping the zombies, who were apparently called walkers, the guy who'd helped out introduced himself as Doug. Apparently, he used to be an IT technician and was basically a geek. Roslyn didn't mind much. With all she'd been through the past few days, that was at the bottom of her priorities on things to think about. _'How'd this happen…why'd it happen to mom…is dad okay…are we gonna make it out alive?' _All these questions swarmed Roslyn and kept her awake half of the night, besides the occasional scream of someone unfortunate enough to fall victim to the walkers. What made that worse was that she couldn't do anything about it. They were safe when they stuck to roofs, thanks to her suggestion, and they didn't need to compromise their position at any time. Roslyn sighed, looking over the side of the roof, watching as the few up and walking zombies shuffled around. She glanced at Doug and where he slept silently, though never soundly. But hey, had any of them recently? Carley sat a few feet from Roslyn, awake and alert as she watched the walkers roam around on the street before them.

"Anything new?" Roslyn whispered. Carley shook her head, eyes locked on the street below.

"Are you hungry?"

"I'm fine Roslyn. Thank you, though."

"Are you sure?"

"Roslyn, I'm fine, okay?" Roslyn nodded silently, reaching for her pack and unzipping it to reveal it contents. Granola bars, water, nail file, a gun and some ammunition, a notebook, and more items probably deemed worthless by anyone else. She'd already emptied her bag of her textbooks and schoolwork, knowing full well she wouldn't need it again and filled it with the essentials. They'd stopped at her home a few days back to find Roslyn's dad and grab some supplies, but didn't find him. Luckily, there's was plenty for them to take. Food, bandages, and a couple handheld guns her father had kept locked in a safe for emergencies. Now was as good a time as any to use them. While at the house though, Roslyn couldn't help but grab what she felt she needed. A small scrapbook, her phone, the notebook and pencils, an army knife, and a watch that ticked softly in her wrist. Besides that, she had what was essential for survival. Roslyn sighed again, zipping her bag back up and facing Carley, her knees pulled up against her chest with her arms wrapped around them.

"When should we leave?" Roslyn looked up, seeing Carley facing her seriously.

"Why are you asking me?"

"I feel like you should have a say in this. After all, you're eighteen and a half. I think you're old enough to help in important situations."

"Like this?"

"Exactly like this."

"We should leave now then."

"Can I ask why?"

"It's dark enough bandits can't see us and light enough so we can still see walkers."

"Smart girl." Roslyn grinned at the compliment and shook Doug's shoulder.

"Doug…Doug…we gotta get moving."

"Hmm…what? We do?" Doug asked tiredly, a yawn following shortly after.

"Yep. Hide undercover of slight darkness."

"Alright." Doug shrugged, standing up as the girls did the same.

"Where should we head?" Roslyn asked, turning to the two adults as she slung her back casually over one shoulder.

"That way. One of my producers got sick while we were here, so we went to a drugstore. It's a fairly good sized one. We could gather what we need and hide there for awhile."

"It's a good idea. Still, we can't stay longer than we need to." The adults nodded and the three of them left the roof to head towards the pharmacy. Carley led the way, Roslyn and Doug following closely with their eyes peeling as dog tried to make conversation.

"So…how do you two know each other?" He asked.

"She was a friend of my mom's and nearly my guardian…probably is now."

"Why do you say that?" Carley shot a worried glance back at them.

"…my mom's…dead."

"Oh…sorry. What about your dad? He's bound to be somewhere."

"I don't have a clue where he is. Could be anywhere."

"Oh…" Doug got quite, sensing how the topic had taken a wrong turn and an awkward silence settled between them.

"How far is this drugstore, Carley?" Doug inquired, breaking the silence that had taken up most of their walking time, which, according to Roslyn's watch, was at least an hour.

"Not too far, I think. Trust me, you'll know it when you see it." Carley answered, smiling back at Doug and Roslyn. Doug managed a small smile in return, but Roslyn stayed silent and expressionless, her gaze stuck to the cement. Carley's sympathetic eyes softened and she turned back around, continuing to lead them forward. Some time later, Roslyn looked up and saw a simple store a couple meters from where they stood, the word 'Drugs' written in bright red lettering on the front.

"Is that it?" She asked, pointing at the store. Carley nodded, hurrying her pace a bit.

"Thank goodness!" Doug sighed in relief, rushing beside Carley and towards the pharmacy entrance.

"You think the door's unlocked?"

"One way to find out." Roslyn stated, twisting the knob in her hands. Locked.

"Great…it's locked."

"Should've expected that, I guess." Carley said, disappointed.

"Calm down, I can pick a lock. Some, anyway. I'll test it out and see if I can."

"You might wanna be quick about it…"

"Why?" Doug pointed a shaky finger at a large group of walkers headed straight towards the trio.

"Give me a few minutes!" Roslyn pushed one her pistols into Doug's hands, taking a wrapped cloth out of her pocket and beginning to fumble with the lock. Carley immediately began shooting walker after walker, Doug soon getting the idea and following along.

"C'mon ya stupid lock…" Roslyn muttered, cursing when one of her lock picks failed to do its job. She tried another, moving slowly and carefully as she tried to open the doors. Another quite curse escaped on her breath as she failed a second time. She knew she didn't have much time or much to work with, so Roslyn worked as fast as she possibly could.

"Hurry Roslyn!" Carley shouted, her bullets gradually running out as more walkers approached closer and closer to the trio's position.

"I'm trying!" Anther fail and Roslyn threw her cloth wrapped tools to the ground in frustration, picking another at random before getting back to work. Roslyn's eyes widened with intense fear, her breathing escalating as she tried again and again to unlock the door.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Work!" She shouted, desperately trying to unlock and occasionally banging on the doors with her fist. Many gunshots began going off, definitely more than Carley and Doug could fire a once. Glancing up, Roslyn saw three individuals making their way onwards them, two of them holding guns and firing at the advancing zombies. Her eyes widened when they stood beside Carley and Doug, helping out as if they'd been part of their group forever. One, a man, handed his gun over the other guy in their group and knelt beside Roslyn.

"Is it open?" He asked, trying to smile as nonchalantly as possible when one is being attacked by walkers. Roslyn shook her head warily, studying the stranger. He only smiled and tipped his hat in reply to Roslyn's cautious yet curious look.

"I think we can help with that. Larry!" The larger, older man who'd taken the other's gun turned around at the sound of his name.

"We need this door open, of you can manage it." The other man, Larry, nodded, reluctantly, and lumbered over. He threw his shoulder to the door and it shook, but didn't open. The second time, however, he kicked the door with enough force to fling it open and ran inside.

"Move!" The other shouted, letting Carley, Doug, and the woman he'd been with storm inside. Larry came back out holding a lock and helped his friend close the gates of the store and lock them tight. He grabbed Roslyn's arm and dragged her inside, her large blue eyes seeing walkers struggle against the bars before the doors slammed shut before her.

"Let her go. Now." Carley demanded sternly, staring the guy still holding Roslyn's arm with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" He said, releasing Roslyn and walking back a bit. Roslyn stood up, brushing the dirt from her jeans and shuffled over to Carley quietly.

"Who are you?" Carley asked, her tone a bit more gentle this time.

"I'm Glenn." The one who'd led Roslyn inside introduced. He looked like any other Macon citizen, with a cap and jacket, his hair as black as Roslyn's and dark eyes. He seemed nice enough, at least.

"I'm Lilly. That's my dad, Larry." The woman said, gesturing to herself and her father who was sorting through shelves. He was a big guy with greying hair and stern brown eyes that matched his daughter's own. Lilly had the same stern look Larry did and straight brown hair. It seemed obvious that she was in charge of their group of three.

"We explained ourselves, so who the heck are you?" Lilly questioned, hands on her hips as she looked at them all in turn.

"Carley."

"I'm Doug."

"Name's Roslyn." Lilly seemed satisfied and soon joined her father in searching the store.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Roslyn asked, arms crossed, as she stomped over to Larry and Lilly.

"Grabbing supplies."

"The supplies we had first."

"You mean _our_ supplies."

"Your name isn't on them." "

Neither's yours, princess." Roslyn's eye twitched and she glared at Larry.

"Look, I have no problem with sharing, but you can't just barge in and take things like that. Especially considering there's more mouths to feed now that you're here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Larry turned and stood up, towering over Roslyn's short, thin form.

"We were heading here since six in the morning and planned on leaving once we were packed. However, due to circumstance, we're all stuck here until there's no walkers or, at least, enough for us to handle."

"Are you blaming us?!"

"Indirectly, yes."

"Roslyn! That's enough!" Carley gave Roslyn a serious stare, shutting the girl up almost instantly.

"Look, if we're gonna be stuck here, we have t make the best of it. Besides, there's strength in numbers. That way, if anything goes wrong, it'll be easier to handle. We all are gonna get along whether you like it or not!" Larry and Roslyn became quiet, but that didn't stop them from scowling at each other.

"Okay. You're right." Roslyn sighed in defeat, knowing she couldn't argue with Carley.

"So, are we gonna get along or not?" She turned back to Larry, holding a hand out with an expressionless look.

"Only because I don't have a choice." Larry growled, pushing past Roslyn and checking out more of the store's shelves. Roslyn rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything. What was the point in fighting? Survival was at the top of the priority list._ 'I have to survive…that's it.'_ She thought as she too began to rifle through the shelves.


	2. Who's Side?

Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Walking Dead, nor do I take credit for the script/dialogue that I'll use for the story! I only own Roslyn, my OC, and the original lines she has! I'll try to change it up as much as I can while still staying true to the story/game! Enjoy! :)**

Roslyn sat crisscross outside the pharmacy with Doug right by her side, silently watching walkers stumble and shuffle through wreckage and the occasional body. It made her sick t her stomach, but she desperately tried to stay emotionless and quiet. It's how she'd been acting for about a week or so, trying to stay invisible to most of the group, except Carley, Doug, and possibly Glenn. Larry and Lilly were the main problem. Larry was a jerk, in nicer terms. Lilly didn't seem sweet either, being bossy and always siding with her dad. Glenn seemed to be the only person of the new group who Roslyn found decent. She sighed inaudibly, watching the walkers dully. Doug seemed to sense her boredom and looked over at her.

"Why do you do this if you hate being lookout?" He whispered.

"'Cause I hate hanging out with Larry and Lilly." Roslyn replied.

"It doesn't really explain why you do this."

"I don't know…it's just…I'd rather be out here."

"Why though?"

"It's better to remind myself what the world is like outside than sit inside in denial."

"I can guarantee that nobody inside that store is in denial about what's going on out here."

"I need to remind MYSELF, Doug. I'll go insane around the living and I'll go insane around the dead. This is a losing battle I'm trying to win." Roslyn sighed, becoming quiet once more, Doug accepting that she didn't want to talk and turning his attention back to the walkers. _'I was wrong…THIS is the worst day ever.'_ Roslyn thought, running a hand through her silky black hair that was pulled into a side ponytail.

"Why do we even do this?" Roslyn asked.

"I mean, all we see everyday is walkers and they at et a threat as long as we're quiet and don't move. What else is there?" Right after she spoke, they heard a child scream and snapped their heads towards the street to see what was happening. A boy was trapped beneath a walker as his group of four tried desperately to help him.

"Doug! Stay here!" Roslyn took out her pistol and unlocked the gate, aiming at the walker's head until a gun sounded off behind her. She turned and saw Carley, her gun aimed at the now dead walker.

"Run!" Glenn yelled, gesturing for the group to get inside the store. They all ran hurriedly to the store, Carey firing off two more shots before following them. She grabbed Roslyn's arm and dragged her behind her as they burst through the doors. Looking over her shoulder, Roslyn saw Glenn shut and lock the gate just as the swarm of walkers reached through the bars. He followed them all inside and shut and locked the doors tight.

"We can't take risks like this!" Lilly's voice rang through the store, irritation laced in her tone as she glared at Carley.

"And we can't just let people die, either." Carley countered, staring Lilly down with her serious brown eyes.

"When I say that door stays shut no matter what, I MEAN IT! We don't even know who these people are! They could be dangerous!"

"You could've been too, but we let you in here!" Roslyn said defiantly.

"We have kids with us." One of the men said, interrupting Larry mid-sentence.

"I see ONE little girl…" Larry scowled, pointing at the small girl who stood quietly beside the man who'd spoken. She held his hand, looking up at him.

"They've got kids Lilly." Glenn said.

"Those things outside don't care."

"Maybe you should go join them. You'll have something in common!" The second man shouted.

"You have to control these people!"

"Carley and Glenn just ran out!" Lilly argued with her dad. Roslyn ignored them, keeping her eyes on the little girl who had slowly moved around them and was headed towards the bathroom.

"She's the leader here. But it looks like she's losing control of her people." The man said to his own group. The group, Roslyn noticed, consisted of two kids, a boy and girl, a woman and the man who'd spoken and another guy. The woman was looking the boy, who Roslyn assumed was her son, over, trying to clean the walker blood from his arms and face.

"If you were in my shoes–" Lilly started, noticing what the man had said.

"Holy—! One of them's BITTEN!" Larry said, eyes widening at the sight of the bloodied boy and his mother.

"He wasn't bitten." The man stated, looking at the boy worriedly.

"Like heck he wasn't!" Larry yelled.

"We'll end this now."

"Over my dead body." The second man growled, standing protectively in front of what Roslyn presumed was his son.

"We'll dig one hole."

"No! I'm cleaning him up! There's no bite! He's fine!" The woman said, half relieved half frightened.

"Leave him alone Larry! She's says there's no bite, so there's no bite!" Roslyn shouted.

"What would you know?" Larry growled, not even sparing a glance in Roslyn's direction.

"Don't you effing people get it?! We're already SEEN this happen! We let someone bitten stay and we'll all end up bitten!"

"Shut up!"

"We gotta throw him out!"

"Kenny! Stop him!" The woman shrieked at the father, Kenny.

"Lee, what do we do about this guy?" Kenny asked the other man, who watched on with worried brown eyes.

"We reason with him." The man, Lee, suggested, crossing his arms over his chest.

"With the bloody end of an axe handle! Nobody threatens my boy!"

"Everyone chill the eff out!" Carley demanded, her voice raising and grabbing everyone's attention.

"Nobody's doing anything!" Lilly said.

"Says you!" Roslyn responded, scowling at Lilly as she did the same in return.

"Shut up you two!" Larry said.

"All of you shut up! They'll find us and they'll get in here and none of this will even matter! But right now, we're gonna be stuck with one of those THINGS!"

"What the heck are you talking about?" Roslyn questioned angrily.

"He's bitten! You and I both know that's how they turn!"

"He's not bitten!" The mother tried to say, still cleaning her now crying son.

"Lee, stop this! It's upsetting him!"

"What if this was YOUR daughter?" Lee asked, eyebrows making a V on his forehead as he looked at Larry.

"Would never happen! She isn't some snot nosed toddler! She's–!"

"Oh, eff you AND her!" Kenny said, fists clenched at his sides as he and Larry glared at each other viciously.

"I'm gonna kill him, Kat! Just worry about Duck!"

"Lee?" Roslyn and Lee turned their heads to the little girl, shuffling from foot to foot in front of the bathroom door.

"Yeah?"

"There's someone in there."

"It's just locked. Key's behind the counter." Roslyn raised an eyebrow at this statement, but stayed silent. _'How would he know?_'

"I'm not the bad buy! I'm looking out for my daughter!"

"Oh, and he's not looking out for his son?!" Roslyn practically shrieked, pushing Larry aside and getting in his face.

"She'll find the bite! Watch!"

"She won't, you effing moron!"

"And when she does? The first thing he'll do is sink those teeth into his mom's face. He'll probably pounce on YOUR little girl…" Larry turned to Lee, "she'll turn fast, then there'll be three."

"He's a little boy; I think we can handle it." Lee argued, though he kept his voice calm as Larry shouted in his face.

"A little boy?! He'll be an uncontrollable monster!"

"It won't happen!" Kenny yelled.

"Knock this guy out." Lee stated, forgetting the reasonable approach entirely.

"Gladly." Kenny punched Larry in the jaw, only to have the punch returned with more force to his own face. He slumped to the ground, Roslyn watching with wide eyes. Her eyes widened more at the sound of the little girl screaming in terror as a walker fell onto the floor in front of her.

"CLEMENTINE!" Lee yelled, limping as fast as he could past Larry and Lilly towards the girl. Roslyn instantly reached for her gun, nearly dropping it as she began to load it. Lee fell to the ground as the walker got closer and closer to its target. Roslyn sighed with relief as the bullet clicked in place and she aimed carefully.

"NO! LEE! HELP!" Clementine shrieked as the walker grabbed her legs. Roslyn's pistol went off and she smiled as her bullet lodged itself into the walkers head.

"Uh…guys…?" Glenn said, his voice shaky with fear.

"Everyone down and quiet!" Lilly whispered, running behind the counter along with everyone else as the boards on the windows creaked and groaned. Walkers were heard outside as they all huddled together quietly, everyone holding their breath as they waited anxiously.

"They'll get in!"

"SHUT UP!" Kenny whisper-yelled to Larry. Roslyn felt a hand grasp hers tightly and saw Clementine holding it in one hand, the other grasping Lee's shirt tightly. Gunfire was heard along with the walkers sickening groans and a few voices spoke to one another.

"The military?" Roslyn mumbled.

"They're gone now."

"Thank goodness for whoever it was."

"We almost DIED because of this brat and her trigger finger!" Larry yelled, turning his rage toward Roslyn as he stood up. He soon stopped in his tracks however, breathing unevenly as he clutched at his heart. Lilly rushed to his side immediately, trying to aid her father as he lay helpless on the floor.

"What's wrong with him?!" Lee asked fearfully.

"It's his heart." Lilly replied in a rude tone.

"We're out of his pills we've been trying to get into the pharmacy since we arrived! Please, try to! Behind the counter, where the medication is!"

"There's probably another entrance through the office." Lee said.

"How do you know that?" Carley asked suspiciously.

"Educated guess."

"Pretty accurate for a guess." Roslyn stated, crossing her arms.

"It doesn't matter. He needs nitroglycerin pills, please. I'll keep an eye on him." Lilly said, concern for her dad etched in her tone.

"Everyone else get comfortable and look for anything useful. We may be here awhile." Kenny suggested.

"I'm beginning to think this drugstore isn't a permanent solution." Glenn muttered.

"Where'd you get that idea? The dying man in front of us or the hoard outside?" Roslyn said sarcastically.

"What do you suggest?" Lee asked.

"We get as much fuel as possible so we all can get out of here. That was Glenn's idea, anyway."

"Agreed."

"I'll head out and get gas. There's a motel not too far from here. I'll just loop around back, siphoning what I can." Glenn volunteered.

"You a local?" "Born and raised."

"Here's a walkie talkie, if ya get in a tight spot. Hopefully, you won't need it."

"Cool."

"Clem's got the other one. Check in with her and get back as soon as you can."

"What's your name?" Kenny asked, directing his attention to Lilly and Larry. Lilly looked up for a moment, briefly introducing herself and her father.

"Keep a good eye on him while we get the medicine. You, keep lookout by the doors." Kenny ordered, pointing at Doug.

"It's Doug. You got it."

"And I'm Carley." They introduced.

"Okay, Carley, you can shift with Doug. For now, get some rest."

"Got it." Kenny turned to Roslyn, studying her before speaking up.

"You can help with lookout, but rest is a good idea for someone with such aim. What's your name?"

"Roslyn." Kenny nodded and turned back to his own family as they all dispersed to do their jobs. Roslyn stood there quietly and Kenny smiled at her.

"Thank you for defending my boy."

"You're welcome. I couldn't let Larry go haywire and kill him."

"You didn't know he wasn't bitten."

"Your wife, Kat, I think, said he wasn't bit. I believed her. That's all there is to it."

"Still, I'm grateful." Kenny nodded, tipping his hat before walking over to his wife and child, both relieved to see him alright. Roslyn couldn't help but smile at them, thinking of her own family._ 'That still could've been us…alive. Beaten, broken, and probably miserable, but alive.'_ She thought, looking away and evaluating the new people who'd joined the group. Lee was a tall guy with dark skin and black hair, his eyes a soft brown with blue clothing. Kenny had a greying brown mustache and hair, caring eyes locked on Kat, a woman with curly blond hair and blue eyes, and Duck, brown hair and eyes. Clementine, sitting by herself on a box next to the shelves, had curly dark brown locks under a baseball cap and a yellow dress, her eyes a a soft golden color. She seemed shaken after nearly being eaten, 'cause who wouldn't be? Roslyn looked at her sympathetically and decided to try talking to her. She didn't know any of the adults, so it was better to avoid them for now and Roslyn, having once been a babysitter, knew a thing or two about kids. Granted, she wasn't _good_ with them, but she tried her best. With that, she walked quietly over to clementine, the young girl looking up with a curious expression towards Roslyn.

"Hiya." Roslyn greeted, sending the girl a small wave.

"Hello." Clementine greeted in return, smiling softly up at the teen.

"I'm Clementine. What's your name?"

"Roslyn."

"That's a pretty name."

"Not as pretty as yours." Roslyn smiled as she spoke, especially when Clementine seemed just as happy with the compliment.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it, Clem."

"Do you wanna sit with me?" The girl gestured to a spot next to her, but Roslyn shook her head.

"I'm good. I prefer to stand anyway." Clementine tugged at Roslyn's hand and made her sit down beside her, causing the teen to roll her eyes, though a faint smile was held in them.

"So…how old are you?"

"I'm eight. What about you?"

"Eighteen…and a half."

"And a half?"

"Yep! So, how long have you been with them?" Roslyn gestured to Clementine's group.

"A few days. Lee found me in my treehouse."

"A treehouse, ya say? I use to have one."

"Really?"

"Yessiree. It was the best treehouse ever! It had a rope ladder, a little balcony, and my dad build a slide into it."

"Really?" Clementine's eyes widened and Roslyn chuckled.

"Really. He wanted the best for me, whenever he could get it. We weren't the richest, but there was enough for that slide. Granted, at the cost of that, it was a small treehouse, but I loved it all the same."

"Where _is_ your dad?"

"I…don't know. He could be anywhere…for all I know he could be…one of those things."

"Maybe he isn't."

"How do I know that?"

"Well, you haven't seen him that way, have you?"

"No, but that doesn't mean–"

"So he's probably okay. I haven't seen my parents, but that's because they're in Savannah. I know we're gonna see them eventually." Roslyn was about to counter Clementine, tell her what was the reality of the situation, but as she looked down a the hopeful child, she couldn't bring herself to speak.

"Yeah…you probably will. Let's hope they don't have to wait to long for you." Clementine smiled and Roslyn forced a grin on her face. _'Why am I lying to her? Her parents, if they aren't with her now, are probably dead…or worse.'_ Roslyn sat quietly, thinking, as she watched everyone do their jobs. Lee soon walked over to them, smiling down at Clementine.

"Hey there." He greeted, kneeling down to the child's level.

"Hi."

"Need anything?"

"I'm kinda hungry." Lee nodded, reaching into his pocket and handed her an energy bar.

"It's not much."

"Thanks." Clementine took it gratefully, unwrapping the bar and eating it hungrily.

"You folks having eaten in a while, haven't you?" Roslyn asked.

"Nope." Roslyn nodded, reaching for her backpack. She found what she was looking for and handed a granola bar to Lee.

"It's the only item of food I could scavenge loads of from my place. You need it."

"I can't–"

"Just take it, okay? As you've noticed, not too many of us would do that willingly."

"Alright. Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Lee turned to Clementine, looking down at the radio in her hands.

"Any word from Glenn?"

"Nope. Is he okay?"

"I think so. You're doing a good job. Sit tight."

"Okay." Clementine nodded and Lee walked away to speak with the rest of the group.

"I'll be right back, alright?" Roslyn stood up, looking at Clementine who nodded. Roslyn walked around, trying to find something to do with her time. Distract her from the world outside, at least for a while.

"Hey, Roslyn."

"Yeah?" Clementine grabbed Roslyn's hand and pointed towards the office, both noticing Lee enter the room quietly.

"Should we follow him?" Roslyn asked. Clementine nodded ad the girls walked over to the office. Roslyn opened the door, Lee seeming a bit surprised to see them, but he kept his cool. He looked around the room, his eyes lingering on a bloodied bedding on the floor. He murmured something, but it was too quiet for Roslyn to hear quite right. Despite that, she could sense that seem thing was wrong, just by how Lee looked at the place. He picked up a photo from the floor and Roslyn saw a small, sad smile on his face, but she was surprised to see him tear part of the photo.

"Find anything?" Roslyn and Lee jumped at the sound of Carley as she stood there, looking curiously at Lee.

"Just a picture of the family that owned this place. It might help us track down the keys to the office."

"I know who you are." Roslyn looked at Carley, curiously, wondering what she was saying.

"You're Lee Everett, a professor at Athens who killed a state senator who slept with your wife." Roslyn's eyes widened and she ignored everything else Carley continued to say as she looked worriedly at Clementine. The girl seemed just as surprised as she was, watching Carley as she spoke and occasionally glancing back at Lee. Roslyn felt Clementine squeeze her hand, as if looking for reassurance, and looked down at her. She smiled, as if trying to convince Clementine that it was okay. The little girl turned her head away, now staring at Lee. _'And I thought I had it bad.'_ Carley left the room, leaving Lee standing there with Roslyn and Clementine watching him. He walked over to Clem and asked if she thought everyone was alright.

"Yeah. Well, maybe not the sick guy." Roslyn chuckled slightly at the answer.

"We'll keep an eye on him."

"There was that thing in the bathroom. It tried to get me."

"I know."

"I was scared."

"Yeah, I…I was far away."

"Roslyn saved me." Lee looked at Roslyn, the teen looking down at the floor.

"I'm glad she did."

"Maybe stay closer this time, so you aren't so far away."

"I'm gonna try."

"Good."

"I'm gonna have a look around, okay?"

"Okay." Lee nodded and began searching through the small office. He moved a pallet of wood that blocked the door to the medicine and a simple cane fell to the floor. Once the pallet was moved, Lee picked it up and examined it.

"What's that?"

"It's my dad's came. He'd zip around on it from time to time."

"Was he sick?" Roslyn asked, her and Clementine standing next to Lee curiously.

"Nah, he was fine. I actually saw him whoop shoplifters with it. This cane's protected this place better than any guard dog."

"Cool. Feels good knowing I've never robbed this place."

"Oh, and you've robbed other places?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I never said that." Roslyn held her hands up in surrender, Lee chuckling at this as he propped the cane against a wall.

"He knew how to make it look cool, like you with your hat." Lee said, smiling at Clementine.

"My dad gave it to me!" She said happily.

"See, dads are smart like that." Lee said, turning back to the still blocked door.

"We'll need to move this somehow."

"Can we help?"

"Sure." Lee put his hands on the desk, Roslyn and Clementine doing the same.

"Here we go. Watch your fingers." They pulled on the desk together, managing to move it a good distance on the first try. They tried again, this time far enough that Clementine stopped, looking at Lee.

"Do you have kids?"

"No." Lee answered as he and Roslyn began pushing the desk against a wall.

"You don't have a family?"

"…so what do your parents do?"

"My mom's a doctor and my dad is an engineer."

"Those are good jobs."

"What's your job?"

"I teach history and writing and things like that."

"Like social studies?"

"Yeah, like that."

"You didn't answer her original question." Roslyn commented, standing with her arms folded.

"We need to move this further." Roslyn frowned as Lee continued avoiding Clem's question.

"Why don't you wanna talk about your family? Do they hate you or something?" Roslyn asked as they pushed the desk.

"I hope not. It's just…complicated."

"Why?" Clementine asked.

"It just is." _'Worst answer ever.'_

"But you love them, right?"

"Of course. Look, my family's gone and I wish things could've been different."

"Yeah." Roslyn's eyes widened as she realized the situation and she looked at Lee sympathetically.

"I'm…sorry."

"It's fine." _'No it's not. Nothing's fine anymore.'_

"I got into some trouble and didn't talk to them for a while. This used to be their store, but let's just keep that between us, okay?" Lee told Clem, the little girl nodding in understanding. They turned their attention back to the goal at hand and pushed the desk one final time.

"OW!" Clementine yelped, holding her finger.

"What happened?" Roslyn asked, stooping down to Clementine's height and looking at her finger worriedly.

"Is it bleeding?"

"A little." Roslyn looked up at Lee and he picked Clementine up with ease, setting her down on the desk. Roslyn was freaking out internally, though she a managed to keep a straight face._ 'Oh my gosh, the child's hurt! It's my fault! I should've been careful! Agh!'_

"I'll find you a bandage." He said, picking up the medical kit he'd found earlier. In no time at all, her finger was bandaged up and she was good as new.

"Is that better? It doesn't still hurt, right?" Roslyn asked worriedly, freaking out a bit as she looked at Clementine.

"It's fine." She turned her attention to Lee.

"Lee?"

"Yeah?"

"What if my parents come home and I'm not there?"

"They'll find us. Don't worry."

"Yeah…okay we should keep a lookout. I've got my walkie-talkie in case they try that way."

"Stay close to me or Roslyn until then, okay?"

"Okay."

"Why me?" Roslyn asked quietly so Clementine couldn't hear them.

"She seems to like you and you saved her once. If I fail again, I want you to shoot the problem."

"I'll keep that in mind if Larry's a problem." Roslyn smirked and Lee smiled, shaking his head at the joke.

"Let's head back to everyone."

"Lee? You're not bad, right?" Both of their heads turned to Clementine, shocked at her question.

"Why do you ask?"

"That lady said you killed someone. Was it because he was one of those things trying to eat you?"

"It's, uh, complicated." _'What isn't these days?'_ Roslyn wondered as they left the office without another word. They all went their separate ways from there, going back to what they'd been doing originally. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Glenn's voice was heard from Clem's radio that everyone stopped what they were doing.

"Hey, it's Glenn and I'm kinda in a jam here. Little girl? If you're there can you, uh, put your daddy on the phone? Or on the talkie or whatever?" Lee gently took the walkie-talkie from Clementine's hands, pressing the button on the side as he spoke.

"This is Lee. What's up?"

"So…I'm down at the motor inn and, well, I-I'm stuck."

"Stuck?"

"Yeah, I saw a chance to get some supplies for the group and a bunch of roaming ones got the jump on me." Roslyn's eyes widened with worry, instantly assuming the worse would befall upon Glenn.

"I'm hiding over here, but they won't leave."

"Hey Glenn, we're gonna talk it over and send a group to come get you, alright?"

"Phew, awesome. I'll sit tight till then." _'He really doesn't have much choice…' _

"Sounds good." He turned the walkie-talkie off and turned to the rest of the group. It was clear he didn't need to explain the situation.

"I'm in." Roslyn stated, stepping up.

"I didn't even ask."

"You didn't need to. Besides, you'll need someone with a weapon and I've got enough." Lee nodded and turned to Carley.

"I'll go too." She said, loading her gun.

"We'll hold onto your radio. I promise Lee will take good care of it." Roslyn told Clementine, trying to give the girl a reassuring smile. Clementine nodded, but said nothing. Roslyn nodded back and turned to Carley and Lee.

"We'll head out now. I'd rather someone as decent as Glenn not die." Carley and Lee nodded before the rescue group left, leaving the drugstore, their one place of (somewhat) behind.


	3. Rescue

Chapter 3

'_I should've stayed behind.'_ Roslyn thought, walking silently behind Carley and Lee as the turned the corner at the motel. _'He's probably surrounded by zombies and this was all for nothing and this was a bad idea!'_ Roslyn suddenly heard a groan and her eyes widened as she saw a walker begin to stand up.

"Get down!" She whisper-yelled, her and the two adults all crouching behind a wall as the zombie stood upright, looking around with its glassy, dead eyes. The three of them all held their breath as they waited anxiously for what would happen. Luckily, the walker didn't notice them and walked away, the trio listening as its footsteps drew farther and farther away.

"Did you see that?" Carley whispered as they peeked over the wall, making sure there weren't any more walkers near them.

"Kinda hard not to." Roslyn muttered.

"Not that." Carley pointed to an ice box on the side of the motel, the door of it moving around as if something was attempting to get out.

"I did now."

"Be ready to shoot." Lee warned, Carley raising her gun as the ice boy's metal door continued to move. The door swung open to reveal Glenn, safe and sound with a look of relief on his face.

"Guys! Oh man, I'm glad you're here."

"Geez Glenn." Carley shook her head as Lee and Roslyn smiled with relief as Glenn went over to them.

"Well, that wasn't so hard." Lee remarked.

"Can we just get out of here before any of those things notice us?"

"Not yet. There's a survivor trapped up there." Glenn said, pointing to one of the rooms.

"No way. We gotta go NOW."

"Listen, I was out here looking for gas and then, up there in the corner room, I heard crying coming from inside."

"Who is it?"

"It's a girl. We talked and she got frightened. I was trying to help her and she started yelling and saying I was bitten. I was trying to convince her I wasn't and that's when all these guys came out of the forest. A couple almost got me and I ended up hiding in the ice machine."

"Lucky you, now let's to!"

"We can't just leave her."

"Darn right we can't." Lee said.

"You guys are suicidal. Over a girl!"

"Carley's right. They're all gathered around her room and making noise will just bring more of them." Roslyn said, looking back up at the room as the walkers continued to pound on the door.

"I'm saving her with or without you." Glenn stated firmly.

"Think about if it was you!" Lee added, turning to the girls. They said nothing as they thought over Lee's words.

"Fine, let's go save Glenn's damsel in distress." Carley sighed in defeat.

"Okay, here's the plan. We don't know how hard it's gonna be to get her out of that room.

"Yeah, it's boarded up." Glenn said.

"Could've told us that sooner, before we decided to help." Roslyn grumbled, though no one seemed to hear her.

"So we have to kill everyone of them in here." Carley and Roslyn loaded their guns, Roslyn a bit more reluctantly as she thought of how stupid and risky the plan was.

"Quietly. Noise attracts these things. Now let's have a look around." As Lee began to look around the wall as stealthily as possible, Roslyn was left to her thoughts. '_Why did I agree to this? I don't even know who we're saving! This is gonna get us killed!_' She thought, though part of her had a different opinion. _'I can't let some innocent person just die! It doesn't matter who they are! Still…ugh, why can't I make up my mind!' _Roslyn snapped out of her thoughts once she noticed the group sneaking their way over to a truck and hurriedly followed them.

"Why do you have a pillow?" Roslyn asked, raising an eyebrow at the object in Lee's hands.

"For that walker by the car." Lee answered, gesturing to the zombie that sat a few feet from where they currently hid.

"Not to judge, but I don't think you can smother one of those things."

"That's not what I had in mind." Lee ran over to where the walker lay as it tried to grab him. Carley ran up behind him and, once Lee covered the walker's face with the pillow, shot it as they watched it slump to the ground.

"Silencer. Nice idea…that's gotta be a thick pillow though." Roslyn said, shaking her head in disbelief. She watched quietly as Lee opened the door to the car the zombie had been leaving against and looked inside, Carley standing next to him while she looked around warily. He grabbed something from the car and shut the door before pushing the car toward another walker, trapping it between the vehicle and the wall.

"Awesome!" Glenn whispered as Lee and Carley hurried back to where they hid.

"Find anything?" Roslyn asked.

"I found this." Lee held out his hand, revealing a spark plug.

"Nice. We may need to use it, so I'd hang on to it." Lee nodded, turning his attention to the truck they were hiding behind.

"You could use it to crack open the window." Glenn suggested when Lee stood up, preparing to throw his shoulder against the window.

"What the heck are you talking about?" Lee asked.

"Let me see the spark plug." Lee handed the plug over to Glenn, all of them watching as he set it on the ground and crushed it beneath his shoe.

"The porcelain inside these things turns window to tissue paper."

"How does that work?" Roslyn asked skeptically. Lee threw the porcelain at the window, making it shatter.

"Like that." Roslyn pouted at the smart grin on Glenn's face.

"Know it all."

"I take pride in that." Lee reached inside the truck and brought out an awl, showing it to the rest of them.

"Brutal looking weapon…for a walker. It could work pretty well." Roslyn commented.

"That's just what I was thinking." Lee replied. The four of them ran back to the wall as quickly and quietly as possible, Lee looking around the corner at a (conveniently) parked RV. They then rushed to hide by the RV, hurrying past a feasting walker. Lee looked around the corner again, seeing another walker, and whistled. '_What does he think he's doing?!'_ Roslyn thought as she heard the walker draw closer to them. Just when it was close enough, Lee leaped up and stabbed it with the awl twice. Another walker came up to Glenn, but he managed to slow it down with a stick. Lee was instantly by his side and killed the walker in no time at all.

"Thanks!"

"Thanks for having my back."

"For sure!" Roslyn and Carley stood up, walking behind Glenn and Lee towards the walker they'd trapped behind a car. Lee shoved the awl through the walker's forehead before it thumped onto the hood of the car without another sound.

"Cool." Roslyn said.

"I'd hate to be that guy."

"But now we've got this." Glenn pointed out, gesturing to the fire axe on the wall beside the zombie.

"You're right. That's way better than a screwdriver."

"Awl."

"Whatever."

"Are you two done?" Carley asked in an impatient tone.

"Sorry. Distractions." Roslyn smiled nervously. Lee grabbed the axe, weighing it in his hands before looking at the staircase towards the survivor's room. They moved stealthily up the stairs, Lee at the front and Roslyn at the end of the group. Lee went right up to the two remaining walkers, cutting off the first easily and chopping the second's head clean off.

"And I thought that awl was brutal." Roslyn muttered, clutching at her throat as she stared down at the headless corpse.

"Hello? We're here to help." Lee said, knocking on the door while he pressed his ear pressed against it.

"Please just go away!" A woman shouted from inside, her voice filled with terror.

"Let's go guys." Carley sighed.

"In a minute." Lee said. "If you open up, we can take you somewhere safer. We've got a group in town."No no no! Please!"

"She's in trouble!" Glenn stood beside Lee, looking at the door with concern.

"Miss, we're coming in." Lee warned, chopping the sole plank of wood that kept the door shut in two. Seeing that the door was locked, he kicked it, only for the woman to begin shrieking.

"Stop! Just stop! I'm coming out!" The door opened slowly, revealing a frazzled looking woman, half covered in blood.

"She's hurt." Roslyn noted.

"I…I said stay away."

"But you clearly need help!"

"It's too late for that."

"Guys, she's bitten." Carley said, looking at the woman solemnly.

"What?!" The other three of them said in unison, turning their attention back to the woman.

"I told you. I said go away, I'm bit, but you wouldn't just leave."

"Let's calm down. You could be fine." Lee said slowly, trying to get the woman to calm herself. Roslyn looked at him skeptically. _'He cannot be serious. She's not fine.' _

"I won't be fine. My boyfriend was bitten. You get sick and you die and you come back and you kill anything you can find!"

"You have a boyfriend?" Glenn asked disappointedly.

"Are you serious Glenn?!" Roslyn practically shouted.

"I don't want that! It's not Christian! Please, just leave me! Please, go." The woman seemed close to tears at this point and a sharp pang of guilt and sorrow hit Roslyn. _'I wanted to leave her behind and she would've suffered. I want to save her and she'll still die anyway.' _

"Okay, we'll leave. Just…try to take care of yourself for whatever time you've got left."

"You've got a gun." She noted, eyes glued to the guns in Carley and Roslyn's hands.

"So?" Carley asked, not knowing where the woman was going with this.

"Can I borrow it?"

"What do you mean, borrow?"

"Can you just give it to me? I can just, you know, end this and then there's no problem.

"Whoa whoa whoa–!" Lee started, but the woman interrupted him.

"PLEASE! I don't want to be one of them! They're satanic."

"…give it to her."

"What? You can't be serious." Carley asked in disbelief, all of them genuinely shocked that Lee had even suggested the idea.

"Do it."

"NO!"

"Look at her Carley. There's no happy ending to this!"

"I'll do it." They all turned to Roslyn, the girl facing the floor with her hair covering her face. She walked up to the woman, placing the gun in her cold hands quietly.

"Thank you so much. I know how terrible this must be."

"We can't watch this, let's go." Glenn said.

"We can't go yet."

"What? Why not?!"

"Someone needs to pick up the gun. We can't leave it. You three go on." Lee said, volunteering to stay with the woman. Carley and Glenn nodded, slowly walking down the staircase. Roslyn, however, stayed next to Lee.

"You can't see this."

"My mom became one of them. She got blasted right through the head before she could attack me. I saw the whole thing, so I can handle this. Go with Carley and Glenn."

"Roslyn–"

"My choice, my gun. I'll stay." Lee looked down at the teen with sad eyes before nodding.

"Alright."

"Thanks Lee." He walked down the stairs and Roslyn turned to the woman, tears held in her eyes.

"I'm here with you."

"You're a good kid." The woman said with a sad smile as she raised the gun to her temple.

"Bless you." Roslyn turned away with her eyes closed as she heard the gun fire. Opening her eyes, Roslyn choked back a sob at the sight of the poor woman who lay dead on the floor before her. She scooped up the gun and gazed down grievingly at the woman.

"I'm sorry…" She murmured, walking down the steps with her eyes downcast before shuffling to Glenn's car. She hopped in the back seat next to Glenn, Carley driving and Lee in the passenger seat. They drove off in silence, leaving the motel behind without a second glance.

***back at the pharmacy…***

"You four okay?" Kenny asked the moment the group entered the room.

"Yeah…we had a few close calls, but Glenn's fine and…well, yeah…we're okay." Lee answered, glancing at Roslyn.

"I've got a few cans of gas for your pickup in the trunk of my car." Glenn stated.

"Good to hear."

"And things back here?" Carley asked.

"Quiet. Our 'friend' in and out over there. He won't survive anymore stress."

"Next order of business is getting those pills out of pharmacy." Kenny nodded and walked back over to his family. Roslyn, wanting to be alone after the motel ordeal, sat by herself behind a shelf a little near Glenn.

"Why am I so worked up over this? It's not like I haven't seen death before…" Roslyn muttered to herself, pulling her knees to her chest as she sat there.

"You…um…okay?" She looked up after a while, surprised to see Lee standing over her.

"No…" Lee sighed, kneeling next to Roslyn.

"It's about that woman, isn't it?"

"Well duh. I feel just…awful. I let her die…I gave her the gun, just like that…why?"

"You did the right thing."

"By letting her give up hope like that? We should be trying to survive, not die off so willingly."

"What could've happened to her would've been worse. You showed that woman mercy."

"I still don't see how letting a lady kill herself was mercy." Roslyn turned her head away, feeling a lump in her throat as she continued.

"It's not just that…I told you my mom became a walker, too. She did and Carley saved me…I just feel horrible about that too, like it's my fault. If I'd gotten there sooner, maybe I could've saved her and we'd find my dad…" Lee rested his hand on Roslyn's shoulder, making her turn and face him.

"You can't change anything, Roslyn. Things'll get better, with time. We can try looking for your dad if we get the chance, alright?" Roslyn nodded, sniffling as Lee patted her head and left. Roslyn wiped at her eyes, staring at the floor as she thought about what Lee had said.

"Roslyn?" Clementine peeked around the shelf Roslyn was hiding behind and looked at her curiously.

"Hey Clem. How are ya holding up?" Roslyn asked, watching Clementine as she took a seat right next to her.

"Pretty good. What about you?"

"Things could be better, but they could be worse too."

"That's true."

"How's your finger?"

"Better."

"That's good."

"Did something happen when you left?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because your hiding here by yourself."

"Yeah…something happened. I just…don't wanna talk about it."

"Oh, okay."

"So…how's everyone else doing?"

"Good, I think. Lee's gonna get the sick guy's medicine."

"Yeah, he is."

"Are you gonna help him?"

"I don't know. It's kinda nice not having Larry shout at me for once."

"He was mean…but that wasn't very nice either."

"I'm sorry, Clem. I'll help him when Lee gets–" Lee and Doug burst through the doors and shut them immediately upon entering, "–the keys." The two were breathing heavy, as if they'd run a mile, as Roslyn stood up and gave them a questioning look.

"What happened out there?"

"We got the keys." Lee answered, holding said keys up to prove it.

"Good. Now we can save Larry, I guess."

"Great!" Lilly said, smiling as she approached them. The three of them went into the office with one goal in mind. Get in the pharmacy and get out. Lee unlocked the door and pushed it open, looking inside at the shelves upon shelves of medicine. He took a step inside, but it suddenly became clear what absolutely none of them had considered. Pharmacies have alarms. The alarm blared as Lilly and Roslyn ran inside to grab the medicine.

"Let's make this fast!" Roslyn shouted.

"We don't have much time."

…

…

…

Everyone scrambled around the store as they began grabbing their things, preparing to leave as soon as possible.

"C'mon, Duck, it's time to go." Kat said, leading her son away from the doors.

"I'm gonna get the truck pulled up 'round back!" Kenny yelled.

"Do it fast! I've gotta get my dad outta here!" Lilly said.

"I don't plan on dilly-dallying!" Kenny began yelling orders as everyone ran around.

"Honey, take Duck to the office and barricade the door behind me! Glenn, start honking in the alley and getting people outta here!"

"You got it!"

"Doug, Carley, and Lee, you make sure our stay up until then! And Lee, I better take that axe in case I run into any of them on the way to my truck."

"Here ya go."

"That door's not locked anymore!" Doug said in a frightened tone.

"You three get on it! I'll be back as fast as I can!"

"Stay away from the windows." Lee ordered Roslyn and Clementine, rushing to the door to help keep it shut. Glenn ran out as Lee took his place and struggled against the walkers. Clementine grabbed Roslyn's hand as Roslyn put her arms on the young girl's shoulders, keeping her close as she watched the walkers pound and push against the windows and doors. Roslyn watched with horror as the boards on the windows splintered and cracked, unable to handle the amour of force being pressed against them. One window became unblocked and Carley had to stop helping Lee and doing to shoot at the incoming walkers.

"Clem, look for something to stick in-between the door handles!" Roslyn said before rushing to Lee's side to hold the door closed. It nearly flew open until Lee shut it again, looking around frantically for something strong enough to keep the door closed.

"Find anything?!" Roslyn asked, struggling against the door.

"Nothing! Oh, wait…!" Clem's voice rang through the building.

"The window's screwed!" Doug remarked.

"GO!" He nodded, rushing to the window to keep it closed. Roslyn gritted her teeth as she put as much force as she could on the door right along with Lee.

"I found something!" Clementine scurried over to where they stood, holding Lee's father's cane out as she watched the door in terror. As soon as they put the cane between the door handles, the three of them heard Carley and Doug's screams of fright.

"Lee! Help them!" Roslyn shouted, still trying to keep the door closed, knowing full well that the cane couldn't last forever. Lee looked back and forth between Doug and Carley before darting towards Carley's purse and tossing it her way. She loaded her gun and was lucky enough to shoot the two walkers who'd tried to eat her. Doug screamed and was pulled through the window, the rest of them listening with wide eyes as he shrieked in agony. Carley looked sick to her stomach and Clementine screamed.

"Let's go!" Kenny shouted, running through the back door. Clementine shrieked and Roslyn watched as a walker grabbed her leg.

"CLEM!" Roslyn let go of the door, ready to charge at the zombie. Lee beat her to it, stomping on the monster's skull and saving Clementine.

"Hurry, Clem!" Roslyn scooped the girl into her arms and bolted for the door that Larry held open.

"Go find Kenny and the others!" Roslyn commanded, setting the girl down before turning around to see Larry punch Lee in the face.

"No!" Clementine yelled as Larry ushered her towards the rest of the group. Roslyn set her eyes on a zombie at Lee's right and fired, just as Kenny came running up to Lee's aid.

"I'm not letting anyone else get eaten today." He helped Lee up, smiling.

"Especially a good friend." They all ran as fast as they could, Roslyn hearing the door slam shut as walkers continued to advance.


	4. Motor Inn

Chapter 4

***3 Months Later…***

"Roslyn!" The sleepy teen kept her eyes closed, snuggling deeper into the couch she was laying on.

"Are you awake?"

"Mhm."

"Can you get up?"

"Yes."

"…are you going to get up?"

"Eventually."

"But I wanted you to draw with me and Duck." Roslyn peeked an eye open, looking at Duck and Clementine as they stood beside her, Clem's face filled with disappointment. Disappointment that Roslyn couldn't handle.

"I'm up, I'm up." Roslyn sighed, offering the kids a weak smile as she sat up. They both shared a wide grin, grabbing Roslyn's hands and dragging her to where they'd been drawing together.

"So, where's Lee?"

"He went to look for food with Kenny and Mark. Wanna see what I drew?" Roslyn nodded, sitting crisscross on the ground as the two showed her their drawings. Duck's was of his own family, all of them smiling and holding hands. Clementine's was a bit simpler, a picture of a tabby cat sleeping in the grass.

"They're beautiful, guys." Roslyn said, her heart warming up at the smiles that lit up the children's faces.

"Thank you! You should draw something to!" Clementine was about to hand Roslyn a sheet of paper, but the teen stopped her.

"I have some in my trusty little notebook." Roslyn grinned, grabbing her backpack and pulling out said notebook and a mechanical pencil. Opening the notebook, she found dozens of random drawings, the front of the book having less skillful works and working its way to the more artistic ones. Leaning up against the RV, Roslyn began to sketch. Her newest work was off Clementine, smiling and laughing with her and Duck. She'd started it probably a month ago, but with all that she'd been doing, she never had the time to finish it.

"That's pretty." Clementine said, smiling over Roslyn's shoulder as she peeked at the sketch.

"Ya think so?" Roslyn asked, handing the notebook to Clementine so the girl could see better.

"Yep! You forgot Duck's freckles, though."

"No I didn't…" Roslyn took the notebook back and peered down at the page, looking between it and Duck, "…or maybe I did. Nice catch, Clem." Clementine smiled before taking her place besides Duck as they continued to draw. Roslyn worked on her sketch, occasionally glancing up at Duck and Clementine for reference. Within the span of twenty or so minutes, Roslyn deemed it complete.

"It's done guys!" Roslyn placed the drawing in front of Clementine and Duck, watching and waiting for their reactions.

"It's awesome!" Duck exclaimed, grinning up at Roslyn with a goofy smile.

"Thank you, Duck! Took me about a month to finish."

"It turned out nice!" Roslyn smiled at Clementine, ruffling her hair as the girl smiled sweetly.

"You two are just big sweethearts." '_You don't deserve to live in a world like this._' Roslyn thought, a frown forming on her face. _'Where the dead walk and the living can barley survive. No one deserves this.'_ Roslyn raised her head when she heard a sudden noise from the woods, standing up and gazing over the fence warily. She looked up at Lilly and saw she'd stood up too, her rifle aimed at the trees as she waited for someone—or something—to emerge. She whistled down at the group, everyone stopping and staring up at her as they hid. Roslyn inched her way next to Larry who stood at the fence and snuck a glance over it. A group of five fled from the bushes as Roslyn stared widened at them. It was Lee and the others, carrying a man without a leg and a teenage boy at their heels.

"Open the gates! We've got wounded!" Lee shouted as he ran towards the fence. Roslyn immediately ran to the gates, pulling them open as the group hurried inside. Everyone who'd been worried walked up, asking question aft question without giving anyone time to explain. Lee placed the man in the bed of a truck as Katjaa looked down at him with worry.

"Lee! What the heck?! You can't just be bringing new people here! What were you thinking?!" Lilly yelled, scowling viciously at Lee as she spoke.

"I want to know why you thought bringing more mouths to feed was a good idea!"

"He would have died if we left him!" Lee replied, glaring right back at Lilly.

"So what?" Larry questioned.

"No one asked for your inhuman opinion, ya A hole!" Roslyn stated, instantly taking Lee's side. She looked over at the man missing half a leg and forced herself not to vomit at the sight. '_What the heck happened?' _

"We are NOT responsible for every survivor we come across! WE have to focus on OUR group! Right here, right now."

"Nice to know you're as heartless as ever. We can't let people die! What if it was you?!"

"Hang on! We haven't even talked to these people yet. Maybe they can be helpful." Carley intervened.

"C'mon Lilly! These are people. People trying to survive just like us. We've gotta stick together to survive!" Mark proclaimed.

"The only reason you're here is because you had food. Enough for ALL of us. But that food is almost gone, we've got maybe a week's worth left, and I don't suppose you guys are carrying any groceries, are you?!" Lilly stated, her hands placed on her hips as she looked at the teenage boy intimidatingly.

"No." He mumbled.

"That's what I thought."

"Fine, you guys fight it out then. Welcome to the family, kid." Mark said before turning and walking off. Clementine stood beside the nervous teen and tugged on the sleeve of his jacket. Roslyn watched curiously as she said something to him and he shook his head, but the child persisted and dragged the teenager to where she'd been drawing earlier. '_Smart girl._' Roslyn thought, smiling slightly before turning her attention back to the argument at hand.

"You know, you like to think you're the leader of this group, but we can make our own decisions! This isn't your own personal dictatorship!" Kenny said, getting right in Lilly's face. Roslyn gulped as she looked worriedly at the shotgun in Kenny's hands, her gaze locked there as the argument continued.

"Oh, c'mon! You're being dramatic! Everything always turns into a power struggle between you two and I'm not gonna be a part of that!" Carley said before she too stormed off.

"Hey, I didn't ask to lead this group!"

"It doesn't matter who's in charge. Those people are here now." Lee said wisely, staying perfectly neutral as the opposing forces looked at him.

"I guess we just have to decide what happens next." Roslyn agreed.

"No, it does matter! One person can't be in charge of everything! It might feel safe for you to sit on the fence, but sooner or later you're gonna have to decide who's side you're on! BOTH of you!" Kenny shouted, stomping away angrily. Lilly convinced her dad to leave the conversation as well, leaving her, Lee, and Roslyn to discuss their problems.

"You think this is easy for me? Everyone's starting to hate me because I ration the food, but nobody else wants to!" Lilly ran to the RV, Roslyn and Lee following behind, wondering what she was doing. Roslyn watched as Lilly continued to shout and shove something into Lee's hands before she left to finish lookout. Roslyn glanced over Lee's shoulder and saw four prices of food. The measly rations for the day. He gave her a troubling look, to which she had no reply. _'Four pieces of food for ten people…' _

"How about you help go Mark and Larry for a bit Roslyn. I'm…gonna be busy." Lee suggested. Roslyn, knowing he need time for himself to think it over, nodded and shuffled quietly towards Mark.

"Here to help with the fence?" Mark asked, to which Roslyn nodded without a word.

"Great, just grab a rock and start hammering." "

Why don't we have actual hammers?"

"Dunno. Couldn't really find any in the woods."

"No need to be sarcastic." Roslyn picked up a rock and began pounding at the nails in the fence.

"She doesn't have the strength for this." Larry told Mark, though he made it quite clear that he wanted Roslyn to hear.

"Excuse me, but do you have anymore muscle than I do, old man? No? Then shut the eff up."

"I didn't ask for your opinion." "

"But I knew you wanted to hear it."

"It's a wonder we even keep you here! What do you do all day? Stay here and doodle in that stupid little notepad of yours while the rest of us do all the hard work!"

"Oh, eff you!"

"You bratty little–!"

"That's enough you guys!" Mark said, stepping between the two as they stared each other down, fuming.

"I think the fence is fine for now. How about you go check on how everyone's doing. You're good at that!"

"Whatever." Roslyn grumbled, making sure to throw the rock at Larry's foot before she left. She smirked at the sound of Larry swearing profanities at her as Mark tried to calm him down, managing a small wave to Lee as he walked towards the two.

"Hey Clem. Hey Duck. How are you two doing?"

"Good! Look what Lee gave us!" Duck exclaimed, showing Roslyn a cheese and cracker kit as Clementine sat and eat an apple silently.

"That's awfully nice of him."

"I know, right?"

"Have you studied our new guy yet?"

"Yep! He seems alright." Roslyn nodded and took a seat between Clementine and the teenager. She looked at him curiously, studying his brown locks and light blue eyes as he sat mutely and stared down at the ground. He must've sensed Roslyn looking at him and looked up, his eyes locking with hers before he turned away.

"Hi." Roslyn said.

"Hi…" The boy replied.

"Wanna tell me your name?"

"I don't even know you."

"And I don't know you, but I'll tell you who I am if you introduce yourself first."

"Okay…I'm Ben."

"Hello, Ben. Name's Roslyn." Roslyn held out a hand that Ben shook tentatively.

"You doing alright? I saw Clem here save your behind from Lilly."

"Yeah…I'm fine."

"No you're not."

"How do you know?"

"Most people say the same thing when they're upset about something. Especially in these times."

"I'm don't wanna talk about it."

"I can respect that." Ben nodded and got quiet once more as Roslyn sat patiently beside him. '_Kid's nervous enough…but he's gotta make friends now or never.'_

"Did you draw this?" He asked suddenly after a couple minutes, picking up Roslyn's sketch and looking at it curiously.

"Yep. I made it for Duck and Clementine."

"It's good."

"I'd hope so, considering it took a month to make."

"Well, it is."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. How'd you learn to draw like this?"

"Practice. I planned on being an art major once I was off to college."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I loved sketching and such. I wanted to work as an artist or manga author, maybe dabble in animation."

"I wanted to be a musician."

"Were you a band geek?"

"I wouldn't say geek…"

"What instrument did you play?"

"Trumpet."

"Any good at it."

"I guess so."

"…you want me to leave you alone, don't you?"

"What? I never said–"

"You didn't need to. The way you spoke implied it. You've been through enough already, anyway." Roslyn stood up, brushing some dirt from her jeans before leaving. A scream alerted her and caused the confused teen to run towards the source. Katjaa was being attacked by the man who had a single leg as he aimed his teeth at her neck. Lee pushed Katjaa out of the way and fought the walker off desperately as Larry ran over with Lee's axe in his hands. He swung and missed, getting the weapon stuck in the truck's back window. Roslyn grabbed her gun and began loading it as Lee fell from the truck bed and the walker pounced. She took aim but Carley beat her to the punch, sending a single bullet through the zombie's head. Lee pushed the walker off of him and thanked Carley, standing up on shaky legs as Larry shouted at him.

"You could've gotten us all killed!" He yelled, shoved the axe aggressively into Lee's hands before he walked towards Ben with Lilly right behind him.

"Why didn't you tell us he was bitten?!" Kenny asked, his tone loud and hostile.

"What?" Ben seemed confused and shocked at the accusation.

"He was bitten and you didn't say a darn word!"

"But he wasn't bitten! I swear!"

"Well, your 'not bitten' friend here came back to life and tried to kill my wife!"

"What!? Wait, y'all don't know?"

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"It's not the bite that does it. You come back no matter how you die. If you don't destroy the brain, that's just what happens. It's gonna happen to all of us."

"God help us." Lee murmured.

"It makes sense. In those first few days, it spread so fast." Mark muttered.

"Car accidents, suicides, everything was making more of them." Lilly stated. Ben nodded, confirming everyone's statements as he continued speaking.

"When I first saw it happen, we were all hiding in the gym and everyone thought we were finally safe. One of the girls…she couldn't take it. She took some pills…a lot of them. Someone went into the girls room the next morning and…" Everyone stood in silence, letting the story fully sink in. '_It's inevitable. You can't beat it.' _

"Back off!" Carley commanded, pointing her gun to two men out in the street, just outside the wall.

"Whoa, lady, relax! Me and my brother we…we just wanna know if y'all can help us out." One of the men said, raising his arms in surrender.

"I said back off!"

"We don't want any trouble." Lee said.

"Neither do we. I'm Andy St. John. This here's my brother, Dan. We're just out here looking for gasoline."

"For what? Most roadways are blocked and any vehicle is loud enough to attract the dead."

"Our place is protected by an electric fence. Generators power the electricity…" Dan explained.

"Our generators run on gas. Look, we own a dairy farm a few miles up the road. If y'all be willing to lower your guns, we can talk about some kind of trade." Andy added.

"How y'all doing on food? We got plenty at the dairy." Roslyn perked up at this, looking at the others for their take on the deal.

"Lee, why don't you and Mark check the place out." Lilly suggested, turning to said people.

"I'm going with you. I've got your back if anything seems fishy." Carley said, lowering her gun and slipping it into her pocket. Roslyn looked back at the St. Johns, eyeing them questionably.

"What're y'all thinking?"

"You've got a deal. We'll bring SOME gas to your dairy. In exchange, you give us some food to bring back. We'll see how it goes from there." Lee answered.

"Sounds fair. A couple gallons should power one of our generators for a while."

"I'm going too!" Roslyn said hurriedly.

"No you're not. You've gotta stay here with Duck and Clementine. I can't trust Larry around them."

"But–"

"Okay?"

"Okay…"

"Good. We'll be back soon." Lee ruffled Roslyn's hair, offering her a fatherly smile. She watched without a word as he left with Carley, Mark, and Ben. '_Be careful.'_

_**Cue useless author's note! Well, there goes another chapter! I thought of a few interesting questions to ask you readers when a choice is made! How many of you would've given ROSLYN food? Along with that, who would take her with them to the dairy? Why would you leave/take her? I'm really curious about that! After all, I want us to somewhat treat her as a character like everyone else, where we interact and such. See ya next chapter! :)**_


	5. Mark!

Chapter 5

Roslyn sighed, turning around to look at Clementine and Duck. '_Well, it's better I watch them than Larry or Lilly._' She thought.

"So, what do you wanna do while we wait?" She asked, kneeling down to Duck and Clementine's height.

"I don't now." Clementine answered with a simple shrug of her shoulders.

"Hey, how about I show you something."

"What?"

"You'll see." Roslyn gently held Clementine's hand and led her to where she kept her backpack.

"Why do you have a scrapbook?" Clementine asked curiously as she sat beside Roslyn on the couch.

"So I remember what it was like before all of this. Besides," Roslyn flipped the book open to a random page, "I feel like I still have my family this way."

"Is that you?" Clementine pointed to a picture of a little girl with black pigtails and a big smile that showed off a missing tooth.

"Yep. That was when I was a bit more girly too, but I'm glad that didn't last long."

"Who're they?" Clementine now pointed out a photo of a man and a woman, standing side by side with a baby cradled in the woman's arms. The man had straight black hair and hazel eyes, the woman with dark red locks and blue eyes.

"Those were my parents."

"They seem nice!"

"Yeah, they were."

"We're gonna find them…well, you're dad, anyway."

"…I sure hope so, Clem." Roslyn looked down at Clementine and smiled, ruffling her hair.

"Hey, what happened to that hat of yours?"

"I lost it."

"Did you try looking for it? Go to where you had it last?"

"Yep. I still couldn't find it, but Lee said he'd help me look for it!"

"He's a good guy."

"Yep!"

"So your hat's missing…hmm…looks like I'll be searching for awhile."

"You're gonna find it?"

"Of course I am. If I couldn't find your hat, what kinda person would I be?"

"Thank you!" Roslyn grinned and walked away, leaving Clementine in charge of her backpack.

"Okay, where does an eight year old drop her hat?" Roslyn murmured to herself, walking around the entirety of the motel. It went on for quite some time (twenty–thirty minutes) until Roslyn sighed and took a seat on a few scattered boxes. She kicked a can absentmindedly, sending it flying towards the fence and nearly over it.

"What's the matter, Roslyn?" The girl looked up and was met with Katjaa's friendly and motherly face.

"I'm trying to find Clem's hat and I've searched EVERYWHERE!"

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"It's sure to turn up soon. It has to eventually."

"I hope."

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd assume you were Clementine's sister."

"What?! What would give you that idea?"

"You care for her so much, right along with Duck, too. You make sure they're fed and happy, even when you're starving and miserable."

"I don't care! I have one priority and it's my own survival."

"Roslyn, I know you gave the kids your rations yesterday."

"…"

"You're a good kid, Roslyn. There's nothing wrong with that."

"There is if I get attached to them. I loved my mom and dad but one's missing and the other's dead. Doug was eaten by walkers and he was my friend. Glenn left when he was decent to me. Heck, I cried at a stranger committing suicide! All of these people who died…it's my fault. If I get attached to someone, it'll be exactly the same."

"Roslyn, you're holding the world on your shoulders, just like Lilly. None of those situations were your fault."

"If they were avoidable, they are."

"It doesn't matter. You're a better person than you make yourself out to be."

"Thanks Katjaa."

"You're very welcome. Now, you said Clementine's hat was missing?"

"Yeah…"

"I'll keep an eye open for it. I promise."

"Thank you." Katjaa offered a weak smile and hugged Roslyn like any mother would hug her child before walking over to Kenny. '_At least some people see a human while I still see the opposite_.' Roslyn thought, cheering up a bit. '_I swear though, if I don't find her hat…' _

"Hey guys!" Roslyn looked up to see Carley and Ben coming through the gates and smiled.

"So, how's the dairy? Is it safe?" Lilly asked as they all walked up to Carley and Ben.

"Full proof." Ben answered.

"Locked down tight and they weren't kidding about the electric fence."

"What about food?" Roslyn questioned at the sound of her growling stomach.

"They've got plenty."

"Well then, let's head over!" Kenny said, grabbing his gun.

"We will. Just get what you need and we'll go." Carley looked at Roslyn as she spoke, knowing that she wouldn't leave her backpack unattended. Roslyn was about to run to the couch to get it when Duck stopped her.

"Wait! We got it, see?" He proclaimed, gesturing to the large bag in Clementine's hands.

"Thanks you two." Roslyn said, smiling as she took her back and lifted it onto one shoulder.

"Ready to go?"

"Yep!" With that, the group set out towards the dairy. Duck and Clementine naturally stuck close to someone they knew, Duck to his parents and Clementine to Roslyn. For the entire walk, Clementine held Roslyn's hand tightly, sticking close to her side while looking around the forest warily.

"It's okay, Clem. I'm here." Roslyn mumbled, squeezing the girl's hand for reassurance. Clementine relaxed just slightly as they continued on in silence. Eventually, the trees cleared to reveal a large farm with crops and trees and a gorgeous house on a hill.

"Wow."

"It's so pretty." Barley past the gate, however, their awe turned to horror.

"Mark!" Roslyn cried at the sight of their friend, and arrow lodged into his shoulder. Immediately, everyone ran over and began firing questions or shouting furiously.

"Mark! Oh my gosh, what happened?!"

"He got shot with an arrow."

"Are to gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I should just…pull it out…"

"Oh no, honey, c'mon, Brenda's got you. C'mon inside now. We'll have you all sorted out."

"Clem, stay with Lee. I have to…" Roslyn looked down at Clementine, who nodded in understanding before Roslyn took off behind Katjaa and Brenda.

"How did this happen?" Roslyn whispered, wincing just at the sight of Mark's wound.

"Ambush. Couple of bandits shot at us…one had some good aim…" Mark answered, still clutching at his shoulder.

"Luckily, his aim could've used some work. Any farther to the right and you'd have been shot through the head."

"Thanks…makes me feel so much better…"

"Don't you dare give me an attitude when there's an arrow stuck in your arm, Mark."

"I guess ya have a point." Roslyn opened the door, allowing everyone to enter the house ahead of her before following them indoors.

"You just take a seat, sweetheart. We'll have ya fixed up in no time." Brenda said, rushing over to do something and conversing with Katjaa while Roslyn took a seat beside Mark.

"How's it feel?" She asked, reaching a hand out to touch it before retracting it.

"Like I've been shot. It's not as bad as it looks." Mark replied, watching the curiosity and concern on Roslyn's face.

"You can touch it. Trust me, that won't hurt as much as the thing itself." Roslyn reached her hand out and touched the wound as gently as she could, taking her hand away when Mark hissed.

"Sorry!"

"It's…fine. Don't worry about it."

"There you two are! Move along now, honey, we need to take Mark up to the spare room. Can't have you resting on a lumpy old sofa, now can we?" Brenda said when she walked back in with bandages in her hands. She and Katjaa helped Mark stand and head upstairs, Roslyn trailing behind with a worried expression. Opening a door, they entered a room and placed Mark on the bed, carefully as not to make him suffer anymore.

"Hold still. This might sting…" Brenda said in a calming voice, curling her fingers around the arrow.

"I'll try– OWW!" Mark yelled as the arrow was ripped free from his shoulder, his hand flying up to cover the bleeding wound. Unbuttoning his shirt, Brenda and Katjaa swiftly bandaged Mark up and let him lie down on the bed.

"That better?"

"Well, I don't have an arrow in my arm, so yeah."

"That blood loss is making you snippy, huh?" Roslyn said, earning a small grin from Mark.

"Now, now, let's let him have his rest. Poor soul deserves it after all that trouble. Katjaa, is it? Do ya plan on checking out Maybell now or after supper?"

"I can do it now. It's no trouble at all."

"Oh, thank heavens! She's in the barn right next door. Poor girl…she was gonna have a calf, too."

"I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Thank you! Thank you!"

"Come on, Roslyn. Let's head out."

"Bye Mark. Get better soon." Roslyn said, waving goodbye to her friend before following Katjaa out to the barn.

***Later on in the day!***

Roslyn watched quietly as Katjaa confronted the cow, Maybell, and Clementine and Duck sat happily beside her. Maybell mooed, earning a giggle from the kids as she shook her head.

"Never thought I'd see a cow again." Roslyn remarked, petting Maybell's coarse hair as the cow laid calmly in the hay. Lee and Dan had returned recently from some camp they'd been to earlier, as she'd learned from peeking out of the barn door out of pure curiosity. Lee had seen her and waved, with a friendly smile as Roslyn shyly closed the barn door shut. The state Dan had been in though…was concerning. '_Something happened at that camp.'_ She knew that much. But what exactly happened? More importantly, why did it seem so important? It was obvious she'd been suspicious of the St. Johns the moment she saw them and now…something was definitely off. '_Just what is it?'_ Her thoughts ceased at the sound of Clementine squealing happily. Turning around, Roslyn saw Lee hand over the girl's lost hat as she grinned for ear to ear. She even managed a laugh when Lee mentioned a salt lick that Clementine may or may not have licked. Roslyn still remembered the look on her face when it happened. Roslyn shook her head, smiling slightly, as she caught sight of the door at the back of the barn. It was suspicious, to say the least. Kenny had expressed his thoughts on it as well, thinking that the St. John family was hiding something. However, not wanting to turn down a free meal, Roslyn refused to pick the lock on the door after he'd asked Lee to do the same. Until she had evidence, she wouldn't barge in on there business. Still….

"Hey Roslyn." "Hi Lee." She looked up at Lee as he took a seat beside her.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Looking at the back door. Kenny wanted me to unlock it, but I won't unless I have reason."

"Reason? Like what?"

"I don't know…like they're bandits or axe murders or something along those lines."

"Well…"

"Well, what?"

"Dan was acting pretty strange after our trip."

"What happened anyway?"

"He shot a woman."

"What?!"

"She started talking about them, the St. Johns, calling them monsters and all sorts of stuff."

"Like what?"

"I'm not sure. She made it pretty clear though that she knows something about them that we don't."

"That door's connected to it then. They lock it down tight and guard it like dogs."

"Maybe Kenny's hunch has some truth behind it."

"We just gotta figure it out. I can pick the lock if you cause a good enough distraction."

"Done." Lee stood and walked away. Roslyn casually inched towards the door, no one seeming to care as she sat right in front of it. Roslyn faced Andy, watching and waiting for a distraction that would be enough to make him leave. He seemed to have heard something and left the barn, his swearing soon heard as Roslyn smirked. Lee walked back in and towards Roslyn as they stood in front of the door.

"Think you can open it?"

"Yeah, I've seen this kinda lock. It's not too difficult." Roslyn reached into her bag, pulling out her lock picks and beginning to work. She listened closely to the clicking in the lock as she worked, smiling at the sound of the lock opening.

"Done." She said triumphantly, standing up as Lee opened the door. Their eyes widened to the size of saucers at the sight. It was practically a butcher shop with sharp, metallic instruments and blood soaking the walls and floor. Roslyn put a hand to her mouth and another on her stomach, feeling nauseous.

"Didn't you hear the bell?" Lee and Roslyn turned around slowly to see Andy standing behind them.

"Dinner time."


	6. Dinner Bell

Chapter 6

"Why is there so much blood in there?" Lee asked.

"Look, we have food here, but Danny and I still gotta do a lot of hunting to keep everyone fed. When we catch something in the woods, we skin it and dress it make here. Mama doesn't like us making a mess in the house. So ya see? Nothing to worry about." Lee nodded, but Roslyn could tell he didn't believe a word Andy said. Still, she followed him quietly out of the barn without any further questions. At the same time, however, she kept a close eye on Andy as they walked, making sure to stand behind him as they approached the house. '_Ill confront him after dinner_.' Roslyn decided as she tried to silence her rumbling stomach. Everyone went inside and Roslyn listened to everyone move sound and talk as they got ready to eat their first real meal in weeks.

"Excuse the mess. We had to block the back door after a walker got upstairs." Andy explained when Lee and Roslyn looked around the disheveled foyer.

"Don't worry. That was a while ago and they ain't been back since."

"Everyone sit down and I'll go get the meal. Ooh, this is a delight!" Brenda said, smiling brightly at her guests as they took their seats.

"I could eat a horse!" Kenny commented. Roslyn looked around the table, making sure everyone was there and accounted for.

"Where's Mark?" Roslyn asked at the realization that he was missing. Brenda was quick to answer.

"Now don't you worry about him. I've already brought some food up. You just let him rest." _'He was shot in the shoulder and stayed in he'd all day. He should be able to come downstairs. _

"Can I see him?"

"You seem awfully worried, dear. He your boyfriend?"

"No! It's just…" _'I think you're suspicious and I need to know that Mark's okay…' _

"…I want to check on him."

"Just leave him be, sweetheart, and take a seat." Roslyn nodded and Lee spoke up.

"Mind if we wash our hands first?"

"Bathroom's right outside in the hall. And be sure to get under your nails, you've been muckin' around in the dirt all day." Lee nodded and gestured for Roslyn to follow him. Despite her confusion, she went along with it and followed Lee into the hall. He began creeping quietly up the stairs, and Roslyn quickly caught on. '_Mark…'_ She tiptoed quickly and quietly upstairs, sighing in relief when she reached the top without being discovered. Lee had already been at a closet and seemed to be plugging something in. He seemed confused and stood up, facing Roslyn and nodding towards the room where Mark was supposed to be. She was surprised to find the room totally empty. She spun around slowly, trying to find any trace of Mark until a light caught her eye. It was faint, but still obvious, and was coming from somewhere behind a bookcase. She and Lee both stood at one side and pushed the bookcase until it reached a door where the light was coming from. A strong, metallic smell hit Roslyn's nose and she gagged slightly. _'It's like the butcher room in the barn…blood?_' Lee opened the door and the world seemed to slow down as their eyes widened and jaws hit the floor. Mark was laying in a pool of his own blood, both of his legs hacked clean off from the rest of his body.

"Lee…" He groaned, his voice raspy and unfamiliar to Roslyn.

"Mark?! What the heck happened?!" Lee asked. Roslyn stood as still as a statue as she looked down at Mark. He seemed to notice her, but turned his gaze away as he spoke in a painfully scratchy voice.

"…brothers…"

"W-what happened to your legs?" Roslyn stammered.

"Don't…eat…dinner…"

"Dinner's on the table and everyone's havin' at!" Brenda's voice called from downstairs, a bright and cheerful tone that didn't fit the situation whatsoever. Lee and Roslyn exchanged a look of horror and bolted for the staircase. They rushed downstairs, nearly tripping and falling as they burst into the dining room.

"Don't eat that!" Clementine seemed shocked at the command, but set down her fork anyway.

"Lee? Jeez man, what happened? Did you find something?" Kenny asked nonchalantly.

"We sure as heck did." Roslyn replied, breathing deeply as she looked over at the kids worriedly.

"Sit down you two! This lady's made you a meal!" Larry yelled.

"Yeah, what's gotten into you?" Lilly asked, confused.

"Mark's legs have been hacked off! You're eating him!"

"Now now…" Brenda said with a nervous smile.

"You're scaring the kids, Roslyn." Kenny stated.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" Lilly added.

"It's always something with that one." Larry remarked distastefully. Roslyn looked over at the frightened expressions on Duck and Clementine's faces. She wasn't gonna stop there though, no way. They needed to face the ugly truth.

"Go upstairs and look for yourselves! You'll find Mark in a puddle of his own blood!"

"This is a fairy, not a ranch. Think about it!" Lee added. Everyone sat I'm silence for a moment, looking at each other until turning to Brenda for an answer, an explanation.

"It's true." Brenda confessed.

"Everything coulda turned out okay for your folks." Dan muttered.

"He would've died anyway! We've gotta think about living!" Andy exclaimed.

"Settle down, honey." Brenda started, "Growing up in rural Georgia, you're taught not to waste. It's how I was raised and it's how I raised my boys. Now, we've got monsters roaming around that do nothing but eat people, and for what? To continue to rot until they eat some more."

"Just let us go." Lee said slowly, cautiously.

"Andy's right; we go after folks who were gonna die anyway."

"Like y'all." Dan said, his face holding no expression and his voice an eerie monotone.

"Lilly! Grab a knife!" Lilly stood up quickly, a kitchen knife in her hands. Andy and Dan stood up just as fast, pointing their guns threateningly at their "guests". Roslyn reached for hers, but Dan put his shotgun to her throat.

"Drop it."

"Only if you do." Roslyn spit in his face, earning a growl of hate. Lee tried to calm the group down as they began talking and shouting, Clementine's soft cries for help and Duck's sobs standing out the most. Andy yanked Clementine back by her hair, earning a yelp of pain. Lee was about to charge Andy then and there until Dan put his gun to Lee's neck. Everyone froze at a dragging sound from the hallway, waiting anxiously as they began guessing the worst.

"Please…someone…!" Mark moaned as he collapsed in the kitchen doorway. Dan managed to knock Lee out the moment his back was to him and Lee slumped to the ground.

"LEE!" Clementine yelled, Andy tugging harder on her hair to silence her.

"I swear, if you do that one more time–!" Roslyn growled, almost forgetting about the gun pointed towards her head.

"I suggest if you like having limbs, you'll put the gun down."

"Trust me, I'm more worried about you than me."

"Dan, take our guests to the freezer. Leave Katjaa and Duck here." Brenda ordered.

"Don't you touch my family!" Kenny yelled as Andy shifted his gun towards him.

"Get a move on. We've got dinner to make." Andy said with a sickening smile. Dan began ushering people into the hall, one by one, until four remained in the room. Roslyn made a dash for Clementine, wrapping her arms around the child as Andy pointed a gun at the, while Dan pointed his own at Katjaa and Duck.

"Let her go now." Andy reached for Clementine, but Roslyn leaped forward, sinking her teeth into his hand. He hissed and drew back, rubbing his hand while glaring down at Roslyn.

"You little–!"

"Andy, that's enough. Help Dan take them to the freezer." Brenda stood up and grabbed Clementine at the same time that Andy grabbed Roslyn. He threw her to the ground roughly, taking her backpack and gun as she struggled to remain conscious.

"Let…her go…!" Roslyn muttered as something tied around her wrists.

"How's about no?"

"NOW!" Roslyn kicked behind her, nailing Andy where the sun doesn't shine.

"Just take her to the freezer too. We just need the others right now." Roslyn squirmed and growled like an animal as Andy dragged her behind him with one hand, the other gripping his gun tightly. Dan pulled Clementine along as well and the brothers walked them back towards the barn. Through the butcher shop, they shoved everyone in the freezer and slammed the doors shut, locking them tightly. It wasn't fifteen minutes later that Larry went berserk and stated pounding on the door furiously, Kenny pacing around as Lilly puked in the corner.

"Are you okay?" Clementine finally asked, crouching beside Roslyn as she lay helpless on the ground with her arms bound.

"I could be better…still…I'm alive." Roslyn groaned as she sat up, feeling a pain on her head and back as she moved.

"Is Lee okay?"

"He's a tough guy. Besides, if you're alright, he's alright. You are alright, aren't you! Those brothers didn't hurt you any more, did they?"

"No, but my head hurts and they pushed us in here."

"I promise, when we get out of here, I'm showing those two a lesson, their momma too." The girls turned their heads at the sound of moaning and crawled over to an awakening Lee.

"Lee! It was a person…they tried to make us EAT a person!"

"But you didn't do it…" He mumbled.

"Yeah, but the rest of us did! If you hadn't dragged your feet…!" Larry yelled, glaring daggers at Lee.

"Eff off, old man! You're lucky my hands are tied!" Roslyn shouted.

"If you and him had been a bit faster, this wouldn't have happened!"

"C'mon dad, now's not the time." Lilly said calmly as she leaned against the wall for support.

"Lee, those psychos have my family and were stick in a dang meat locker! We've gotta get the eff out of here!" Kenny said.

"These are the ones that brought us here!" Larry argued, pointing a fat finger at Lee and Roslyn.

"Will you just shut the eff up?!"

"I'm scared." Clementine murmured, looking up at Lee.

"Don't be. It's gonna be okay…I'm gonna find us a way outta here…" Lee reassured her before proceeding to walk around the room.

"Yo, Kenny!" Roslyn called, Kenny turning to face her.

"Yeah?"

"I need you to do me a favor and untie me. I'd assume a fisherman would know about this."

"I can try." Kenny walked over to Roslyn, who turned away and held up her wrists. She waited impatiently as he struggled with the knot, cursing once or twice when he fumbled with the rope. After waiting another minute or so, Roslyn was relived to feel her hands were free of their restraints. She rubbed at her scratched red wrists tenderly, wincing at the pain.

"They didn't have to tie it so tight…" She mumbled.

"They didn't have to eat Mark either, but he never got a say in that."

"I know…thanks Kenny."

"Don't mention it." Roslyn and Kenny parted ways as she hurried over to Clementine, checking on her before hugging her.

"Thank goodness…" Roslyn looked down at Clementine with relief before backing away.

"We gotta help Lee find a way out."

"He said I could help."

"How so?"

"Looking for something loose that we could open to get out."

"It's a good plan. Let's stick to it, alright?"

"Okay." Those trapped in the meat locker stopped moving as Larry clutched at his chest in pain. His breathing became uneven until his eyes lulled back in his head and he collapsed on the floor. Roslyn and Clementine gasped as Lilly rushed over to her dad's side, pushing her hands on his chest frantically.

"Is he dead?" Kenny asked.

"He's not dead! Somebody help me!" Lilly said, but she sounded as if she too needed to be convinced of that fact.

"…if he's dead…"

"HE'S NOT DEAD!"

"…you know what has to happen Lee. Think about it. You saw that poor sucker at the motel, how fast he turned."

"What are you saying?!"

"Lilly, I'm sorry, I truly truly am, but in a few minutes, were gonna be stuck in a room with a six-foot-four, three hundred pound, dead guy!"

"Eff you! We can bring him back! Lee!"

"Lee, she's right. We can help him." Roslyn stated, looking down at Larry with concern. She may not have liked him, but she didn't want the poor guy dead! All of her dislike seemed to vanish the moment Larry had hit the floor and stopped breathing.

"We'll mourn him later, but right now we need to keep him from coming back." Kenny said.

"No!" Clementine shrieked, her hands covering her face as she looked down at Larry.

"Kenny, I'm telling you, he's not dead!"

"Lilly can still save him." Lee proclaimed.

"I wish she could, believe me, I do. But that man is dead! We all know what happens next!" Kenny argued.

"Back at the drugstore when we all though Duck was bitten, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe we should do the same now!"

"That was different! Duck wasn't bitten! But c'mon, we KNOW this guy's not gonna make it. Remember what Ben said, we gotta destroy the brain. You gotta have my back this time!"

"Lee, I need you! Please help me!" Lilly shrieked. Lee came to a decision fast, kneeling next to Lilly and beginning to press on Larry's chest. Roslyn kept an eye on Kenny, eyes widening to dinner plates when she saw him look at a stack of salt licks.

"Kenny…" Roslyn murmured softly, but Kenny ignored her and picked up a salt lick.

"Don't do it man…" Still, he ignored her, a solemn look on his face as he approached Larry's unconscious body. He lifted the salt lick over his head and Roslyn put her arms around Clementine. Larry took a breath and Roslyn held Clementine protectively.

"KENNY! DON'T!" The salt lick fell from his hands just as Roslyn turned her back to Larry and pulled Clementine close to her, hearing a disgusting splat/crunch.

"NO!" Lilly shrieked hysterically.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I just– it had to be done!" Kenny said.

"You don't know that!" Lee countered, starting a shouting match with Kenny as Roslyn listened to Clementine's deep, shaky breaths and rapid heartbeat. Roslyn turned slightly, seeing Larry in her peripheral vision, his head a bloodied mass of flesh and brain matter on the floor. She hurriedly pulled Clementine closer to her as the girl hid her face in Roslyn's shoulder. The fabric of her sweatshirt became wet and Roslyn knew then that Clementine had began crying.

"Shh…shh…it's okay. I'm here…don't cry…" Roslyn whispered as she rubbed Clementine's back gently and let her sob quietly into her shoulder, her tiny fists grasping her sweatshirt tightly.

"Don't worry…shh…it's all over…" Soon, Roslyn felt another pair of strong arms wrap around her and Clementine.

"I know, I know. You gotta be strong now. Think about something else, like those pretended talks with your parents. Don't those make ya feel better?" Lee asked, Roslyn moving away to let Lee comfort Clementine.

"Sometimes." Lee nodded and reassured Clementine that they would make it out of there. Giving her one last hug, he walked over to Lilly and Larry. Roslyn watched as he and Lilly spoke and he searched Larry's pockets. He pulled out a coin and made his way over to the air conditioner. He began unscrewing the conditioner and soon enough, he and Kenny were lifting it away, a gaping hole still in its wake.

"No one's gonna be able to fit through there." Roslyn commented.

"Clementine could though." Lee walked over and knelt in front of Clementine and made sure she woman with going through the air duct. Roslyn saw her fear in her eyes as she nodded. '_Brave girl…'_ She thought as Lee lifted Clem up and into the air ducts. Slowly but surely, the doorknob eventually opened and Clementine peeked her head inside.

"Did anyone see you?"

"No, but there's a man outside." '_Should've known_.' Kenny instantly stomped out of the room, Lee trying to convince him to come back, but to no avail. Roslyn groaned and followed Lee outside the door, making sure Clementine stayed behind with Lilly. Lee grabbed a hay hook from the bloody counter and Roslyn took a sickle, just to be safe. The three of them quietly sneaked from the room and Roslyn instantly saw Dan standing next to the barn front doors. They crept quickly towards the door, but stood stone still when Andy walked up.

"Hurry!" Roslyn whispered-yelled as they dove into a nearby stable.

"What's he doing here? We can handle one, but both…?"

"We gotta take them by surprise." Lee suggested, peeking around the door to check on the brothers. Roslyn grew suspicious when Lee said they were gone.

"Are you sure?"

"Where are they?" Kenny and Roslyn asked.

"I don't know." Was all Lee could say. "Check again." He did and leaped up to grab the gun that had been pointed towards his forehead. The shotgun went off and Lee took out his hay hook, lodging it in Dan's chest. He yelled in pain, shoving Lee back roughly with his gun and among him fall to the ground. Dan pointed his gun at Lee as Kenny watched with wide eyes. Roslyn leapt up instinctively and drove her sickle into Dan's shoulder, successfully catching him off guard. He stumbled back and Roslyn listened to a metallic clank, followed by a crunch, as his foot lodged itself into a bear trap. Lilly entered the room and helped Lee up as Roslyn scowled at Kenny.

"Thanks." He looked at the ground, guilty he'd chickened out. However, his ears perked up at the sound of his wife screaming and he rushed out of the barn without a second thought. They all turned to Dan, who sat on the floor helplessly. Lee grabbed a pitchfork and held it out threateningly to Dan, who, despite everything, smiled rather creepily.

"See?! You understand now, don't ya?! You can have me! It's how the world works now! Give part of yourself…so others can live!" He said.

"I should kill you right now." Lily growled, taking the sickle from Roslyn's hands.

"Mark never volunteered to be food!" Lee exclaimed, his grip on the pitchfork tightening.

"You gotta keep me alive. If you kill me, the meat gets tainted! You can't eat it!" Dan advised and Roslyn looked down at him in disgust.

"You're already tainted!" Lee had heard enough, and he threw the pitchfork right next to Dan's head, grazing his ear slightly.

"This isn't how the world works now!" Clementine seemed relived at Lee's decision to spare Dan, even though he had wanted to eat them. '_Such a sweet girl in a cruel world…_' Part of Roslyn still wanted to end Dan, make him pay. However, another part of her begged her to stay human, control her sanity…and she listened to it. '_I won't stoop to their level._' Lilly volunteered to stay and cover Lee while protecting Clementine so he and Roslyn could get Kenny, Katjaa, and Duck. They nodded and crept from the barn as thunder roared outside. Rustling was heard from the corn and they froze, waiting for whatever was to come. Luckily, it was Carley and Ben, both seeming surprised to see Lee and Roslyn.

"Is everyone okay? You guys have been gone WAY too long!"

"We need your help!"

"Yeah, you guys didn't come back, I figured something was up."

"Larry's dead! They chopped off Mark's legs and tried to feed them to us!"

"Is everyone else okay?" "They've still got Duck and Katjaa in the house and we don't where the heck Kenny is!"

"Alright, we're coming in to help!"

"The main gate's too dangerous, you're gonna have to go around back. Do you have a weapon?" Roslyn pointed out.

"Never leave home without it. Ben, stay close and you two, be careful."

"Wouldn't dream of doing otherwise." Carley nodded before she and Ben disappeared among the tall stalks of corn. Within minutes, the duo stood before the ominous house and listens to Katjaa begging and pleading with her emotionless captors. Carefully going up the porch steps, they stopped at Brenda's voice.

"Danny? Is that you? What's going on out there?"

"Let Katjaa and Duck go! NOW!" Roslyn shrieked.

"Don't take another step!" Brenda shouted, pointing a pistol at Lee and Roslyn once they entered the house with Katjaa trapped in a choke hold.

"Brenda, you know you don't wanna do this!" Lee said, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Just go away and leave us be!" Lee took a few tentative steps forward when the gun was pointed away, but froze as it aimed at him again.

"Stop right there, I mean it!"

"It doesn't have to end like this!"

"I'll kill her…!" Roslyn zoned out as their conversation continued on, her eyes wandering towards the top of the staircase. A legless zombie laid there pathetically, desperately claying at the air as its lifeless eyes looked at Brenda hungrily. '_Mark…_' Roslyn was shocked, but not overly so. She knew it would've happened eventually, no matter what. '_He had lost too much blood…_' She continued to stare up at Mark as Brenda drew closer and closer to him. For a split moment, Roslyn saw her mother, a rotting corpse with gaping bites all over her body as she tried to eat her one and only child. The scene returned to normal as Brenda came too close to Mark's corpse and he grabbed her, sinking his teeth deep into her flesh as she hollered and screamed. Katjaa was able to break free of her hold and ran off out the door, Lee and Roslyn running right behind her at the sound of confrontation. Andy was holding his own gun to Duck's temple as Kenny glared at him with pure rage and hatred. Kenny ran forward and was shot in the side, Katjaa screaming and hurrying to her husband's side.

"Dad!" Duck screamed, tears rolling down his face. Roslyn looked around desperately for something to help her when she noticed Katjaa had dropped something when she ran to Kenny. _'My bag!'_ As Lee and. Andy spoke to one another, she carefully inched her way toward her bag, taking small slow steps as to not draw much attention. Just as she took a dive for her backpack, Carley shot Andy's ear, causing him to release Duck as he held his ear gingerly. Lee charged Andy as Duck ran to his parents and Roslyn took out her handgun. '_If he would just stop moving…!'_ She tried to aim, but found if she shot, Lee had a high chance of being hit by mistake. They rolled down he hill and Andy grabbed Lee by the shirt collar, right towards the electric fence. He held his face towards the fence as Roslyn watched in horror beside everyone else. '_Great! If I shoot from this angle, he's gonna let Lee go and he'll end up scorched!'_ Lee struggled against Andy's grip as he leaned his face closer and closer to the fence as it buzzed with electricity.

"Lilly!" Roslyn shouted as Lilly exited the barn. Lilly saw Lee and took aim, shooting Andy and Lee standing up quickly. Lilly and Clementine joined the rest of the group as Lee proceeded to punch Andy's face repeated while the rain poured down in sheets. Clementine instantly clung to Roslyn's arm, hiding her face in the blue fabric of the sweatshirt. Lee eventually stood up, looking down at a pummeled Andy, who lay in the slick grass quietly.

"…is that all you got, Lee?" Andy groaned, sitting up slightly before laying back down.

"It's over!" Lee stated, raising his voice at Andy as he sat up again.

"As soon as Dan and mama get out here, you're all screwed!"

"I doubt they'll be going anywhere anytime soon." Roslyn growled. Lee stared at Andy in silence before nodding and walking towards the group in silence.

"Don't you DARE walk away from me, Lee!" Andy slumped onto his knees pathetically as Lee continued walking away.

"Get back here and finish this!"

"I'd say this is already finished." Roslyn spat, glaring at Andy.

"Get back here and right me like a man, Lee!" Lee stopped for a moment, glancing at Andy from over his shoulder before turning away and walking.

"Lee!" Andy whined, his knees deep in the mud as the generators power ceased right then and there.

"They're getting in!" Clementine remarked fearfully, clinging to Roslyn with one arm and pointing at a group of walkers with the other. They toppled the fence and Lee hurried last the gate, everyone following closely behind. Clementine dragged Roslyn behind her, arms still wrapped around hers, as the older girl tried to tone out the sounds of Andy's pathetic shouts as the walkers closed in on him.


	7. The Raid

Chapter 7

Roslyn followed closely behind Kenny and Lee as they rushed through Macon, looking around cautiously for any stray walkers. They'd ran into a few earlier, Roslyn dealing with it with her army knife, and now their run for supplies seemed all the more urgent. They eventually slowed down beside a wrecked hardware store, Lee peeking around the corner with his rifle in hand. He nodded, signaling the coast was clear and they turned the corner, headed straight for the pharmacy.

"Looks like this is our lucky day." Kenny commented, glancing up at the crashed helicopter that had gone through the pharmacy roof.

"Maybe. They tend to sneak up on us." Lee said as the trio walked towards the store.

"Yeah, nothing takes you by surprise like a groaning dead guy who walks a meter per hour." Roslyn muttered.

"Still, the less I see, the happier I am." Kenny remarked. As they walked, Roslyn noticed Kenny flinching with each step, the gunshot he'd received from the dairy still hurting like heck, despite the time that and passed. '_Lucky it didn't puncture anything vital.'_ She thought, frowning slightly. '_Heh, lucky he stole the supplies from the car._' Oh. How Roslyn remembered the moment. Walking back to the motel when they had found a supposedly abandoned vehicle, the trunk filled with food, clothes, and supplies they desperately needed. Clementine had refused to take a thing, knowing it was stealing. Roslyn's frown depend as she remembered her own opinion on the situation…she'd wanted to take it. Every last box. Yes, she knew the car was on. She knew it belonged to someone. Heck, she knew deep within that that someone would come back for it soon. Still, as she listened to her rumbling stomach, Clementine's timid voice was what she had heard. Lee had taken the girl's side, saying the thievery was wrong, and stood beside her as the rest of them took the supplies…all except Roslyn. As the teen looked into Clementine's soft, glowing eyes, her sad plea to do the right thing…she couldn't bring herself to steal. Even as her stomach hissed and growled, her body ached, her mind dark and dreary, she walked to Clementine and Lee. Her guilt rushed back at the thought of that very night.

"Okay, just like last time. Over the rig, into the pharmacy, and scrape together whatever supplies are left." Kenny stated.

"We didn't leave much in there." Lee pointed out.

"We're out of options."

"Something's better than nothing." Roslyn agreed as Kenny climbed the ladder attached to a truck against the side of the drugstore. Once he made it, Roslyn went up nervously as the ladder shook slightly under her weight. A rung snapped, finally giving out from all the trips it'd endured and Roslyn scrambled up onto the truck's roof.

"Well, that option's gone." Roslyn stated as Lee grabbed the ladder and it broke free easily.

"What now?"

"I'll find another way. Don't worry." Lee assured, Roslyn nodding. Lee walked towards a jeep paired nearby and grabbed the winch, pulling towards the truck.

"What are you doing?"

"Finding a way up." Lee replied, hauling the winch behind him as the cable stretched from the jeep.

"Lilly's not doing too good, is she?" Kenny said after a moment.

"You slaughtered her dad." Roslyn pointed out, a scowl on her face. Kenny seemed ready to shout at her when Lee interrupted.

"It's not good. I'm worried."

"If only this one was." Kenny gestured to Roslyn and her frown deepened.

"And yeah, there's a lot to be worried about. Lilly's gonna snap."

"SHE'S gonna snap?!" Roslyn proclaimed. "You murdered her dad with a salt lick right in front of her eyes!"

"I did what I had to!"

"He took a breath! I saw him! Lee saw him! Lilly saw him! He took a breath right before his face was smashed in!"

"Not true. Right Lee?"

"I…well, I don't know what I saw. We were all doing what we thought was right." Lee answered, staying neutral as he attached the winch to the truck.

"I can accept that, at least." Roslyn mumbled, taking a deep breath as she turned away from a pretty ticked Kenny. Going back to the jeep, Lee flicked the winch control on and the jeep was pulled gradually towards the truck until stopped beside it.

"Duck was asking about the kid from Hershel's farm last night." Kenny said as Lee climbed into the hood of the jeep and looked up at Kenny.

"Really? I wasn't sure it phased him." Lee said in response.

"Hey, death does that to people." Roslyn pointed out with a lazy shrug of her shoulders.

"She's right, for once. Of course it phased him."

"What'd he say?" Lee asked.

"He wanted to know if Hershel's son somehow made it. Pretty sure he knows he didn't. Don't worry, you made out like a hero in his eyes."

"What happened at that farm, anyway? You two never told me." Roslyn said, watching as Kenny and Lee exchanged a look.

"A group of walkers snuck up on a man who saved Clementine and me…Duck made it out okay, he…didn't." Lee explained, head turned to the ground.

"Oh. Did you try to help him?"

"I did. Kenny had to save Duck."

"That's good. At least you both tried, right?"

"Yeah." Lee looked back up and Kenny held his arm out, ready to hoist him onto the truck's roof.

"You sure you're up for this? You DID get shot in the side a couple weeks back…" Roslyn inquired.

"Don't worry, I've got this. Lee, gimme your hand." Lee reached up (hesitantly) and grasped Kenny's hand, making it halfway up before Kenny released him and held his side. Lee's eyes widened and Roslyn flinched as she heard him fall back onto the hood of the jeep.

"I thought you said you could handle it!" Lee exclaimed.

"You ever been shot before? I'm sorry…ugh, you'd think you–" Kenny was interrupted by an ear-splitting shriek.

"The heck…?" Roslyn murmured as a woman burst from one of the surrounding stores, screaming her head off as a walker followed closely behind. Her screams brought more corpses from other shops and they began to surround her almost instantly, her cries for help a dinner bell to them.

"It's a girl!" Lee stated, looking up at Roslyn and Kenny.

"We have to help her!" Roslyn decided.

"How? There's no getting to her." Kenny remarked.

"We gotta do something!" Lee turned back to look at the girl as they all watched a crawling walker sink its teeth into her ankle.

"We gotta shoot her. Put her out of this misery." Lee said.

"They don't know we're here."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we leave her alive and she draws them all to her, buying us time."

"Ken…"

"Think about it! We're always worrying about the ones we can't see. She stays alive and she'll bring them all out in the open!" Lee turned away, looking over at the girl in silence. _'Not again…not again…not again!'_ Roslyn thought as she watched the woman scream and shout as she ran around, desperate to escape. _'She can't go on like this!' _Roslyn looked down at a contemplating Lee, his face filled with different emotions as he tried to make up his mind.

"Let's get this over with!" Roslyn pulled out her gun and aimed, closing her eyes as the gullet flew from her pistol and into the woman's head. Kenny swore as some of the walkers shuffled their way towards them and glared at Roslyn.

"This was Lee's choice, not yours!"

"He was too slow to make one." Roslyn muttered.

"Look what ya did. Ugh…let's move." Kenny helped Lee up and the three of them hurried inside the pharmacy. Roslyn shut the door behind them and they rushed further inside to where the medicine was kept, shutting another door as walkers groaned from the other side.

"It's sturdy, but we ain't got much time!" They split off separately and began to grab as many supplies as the could, shoving them into their bags as the walkers began to pound on the door. Roslyn grabbed as much as she could, shoving the medical supplies into her bag as Kenny urged them to hurry. The walkers began reaching through a hole in the wall and their pounding began to shake the door.

"Incoming! C'mon!" Kenny shouted, Lee and Roslyn standing up with backpacks filled with what they could scavenge. They hopped over the counter one by one and ran for the exit. Unfortunately, the door gave way and trapped Roslyn beneath it as she struggled to hold it above her.

"Kenny! Lee! Help!" She cried, panting as she tried to push the door off of her. She looked up and immediately saw Kenny looking back and forth between her and the exit, much to her dismay. Meanwhile, Lee kept his morality. He shot the walkers on the collapsed door, easing the weight and force enough for Roslyn to push he door off of her. She scrambled back, panting and looking at the oncoming walkers with wide, fearful eyes. Lee ran around her and pushed the fridge near the door down, right onto one walker and successfully stalling the rest.

"Out! Let's get out!" Kenny shouted as he shot down some of the incoming walkers.

"C'mon!" Lex urged, grabbing Roslyn by the arm and helping her up before they ran towards Kenny. A walker (the deceased pilot of the helicopter) growled as it grabbed Lee with its jaws wide open. Roslyn shot at it, using two bullets before the corpse hit the ground.

"The heck was that?!" Roslyn asked angrily, turning to Kenny.

"They're everywhere! Lee saved your sorry behind, didn't he?"

"Yeah, no thanks to you!"

"You're alive! You should be thankful!"

"Thankful?! You nearly got me killed!"

"We don't have time for his!" Lee groaned, pushing Roslyn through the exit before going through as well, Kenny close behind. They kept on running after that, sprinting through the streets as walkers shuffled and growled behind them.

***Later at the Motor Inn…***

The trio walked in absolute silence as the motel creeped into view before them. Roslyn stayed as far from Kenny as possible, still agitated at his contemplating leaving her for dead._ 'I can't believe it…_' She glared down at the road as they walked on and pushed open the gate to the motel, entering silently. Roslyn looked up, noticing Ben on watch above the RV. She waved to him, faking a smile as he waved his greeting in return.

"You're back!" Roslyn turned to see Clementine rushing towards Lee and her, walkie-talkie in hand.

"Ben found some stickers I a drawer and I put them on my walkie! See?" She said, holding it out for them to look.

"Hey sweet pea. That's neat. I'll find ya in a minute." Lee said, smiling softly at Clementine, who nodded as he walked back to Kenny towards Lilly's room.

"I saved you some!"

"Did you now?" Roslyn smiled, kneeling down to Clementine's height.

"Yeah! I thought you'd want one."

"That's sweet, Clem. Thanks." Roslyn let the little girl put a small sunflower sticker on her sweatshirt.

"You're welcome!" Roslyn smiled again, patting Clementine's hat before standing up.

"I'm gonna talk to Ben for a bit, okay? Make sure he's doing okay."

"Okay. If you want anymore stickers, I have some."

"Got it." Roslyn gently smiled as Clementine walked away to finish coloring a picture and glanced up at Ben. He noticed her and she waved again as she walked in front of the RV, looking up at him.

"Hey Ben."

"Hey Roslyn. How was the trip?"

"Awful."

"It couldn't have been that bad."

"No?" Roslyn sighed and climbed the ladder to the roof of the RV, taking a seat beside Ben.

"I saw a woman die today."

"No kidding?"

"What's worse…" Roslyn looked down at her hands, "…I killed her."

"You did not!"

"Yep…she was bitten…they were swarming her…Lee didn't know what to do, so I…put her out of her misery. I stopped her suffering."

"Wow…"

"To top it off, Kenny nearly left me to die out there today."

"What?!"

"Yeah. Walkers trapped me under a door and he stood and watched."

"How'd you get out?"

"Lee saved me, luckily. I'd be dead if it wasn't for him."

"So would I."

"That is true. Lilly was seriously ticked when they brought you into the group."

"You, Lee, and Carley stood up for me."

"Only 'cause we knew you'd die on your own." Roslyn teased, smirking.

"Hey, I could make it out there as well as you could!"

"Keep telling yourself that, Benny."

"That's not my name."

"I know, but it bothers you so much and makes it fun!" "I'll never understand you."

"Same here, Benny boy. Same here…" Roslyn chuckled lightly, looking down at their group walking around, talking/arguing, trying to relax. She looked down at Clementine and Duck and smiled to herself. Her eyes drifted to Carley, who was on the motel's second floor and talking seriously to Lee. For a moment, at least. She leaned in and whispered something to him before kissing his cheek. _'I always thought they'd be cute together…'_ Roslyn thought, smirking slightly.

"What're you looking at?" Ben asked, peering over Roslyn's shoulder.

"Hmm…? Oh! Nothing…" Ben didn't believe her and looked in the direction she'd been facing, his gaze instantly catching sight of Carley and Lee.

"Aren't they a couple?"

"It'd be adorable, but no."

"I don't see why not."

"We're in the middle of an apocalypse, Ben. There's no time for romance."

"That does make sense…" Roslyn looked over at a somewhat somber Ben and set a hand on his shoulder.

"Something wrong, Ben?" She asked softly.

"No…it's nothing…" He mumbled in reply, shaking her hand off of his shoulder.

"Most people would say the same thing. Especially in these times. It's not nothing."

"Just forget about it, okay?"

"Ben, you know you can trust me."

"Okay?"

"…okay."

"Thanks." Roslyn nodded and the two of them sat in since for a while, keeping watch as the group went about their business.

"Hey." Lee greeted as he walked up to the RV, Roslyn giving a small wave.

"A flashlight was broken. Was it you?" He asked, the question directed to Ben.

"No." Ben replied, somewhat confused.

"You're not in trouble if it was. I know you get nervous and maybe you went out to go to the bathroom, broke it, got worried and tossed it."

"What's with the third degree? I didn't break any flashlight."

"…okay then." Lee turned his attention to Roslyn, holding up the broken flashlight.

"Roslyn, do you have any idea what happened to it?"

"Nope, why?"

"Someone's been stealing supplies. We need to know and this is our best lead."

"Seriously? That's horrible…we need those, whether we stay here for the winter or not."

"Any clue as to how the light broke?"

"Dunno. You could check out the broken glass near the rooms. Katjaa asked for help cleaning it, but we never got to it."

"Thanks."

"Anytime." Roslyn nodded and Lee walked away to investigate further, a smile tugging at her lips when she saw Duck race to follow him.

"How come I'm suspicious, but he treats you like a regular person?" Ben asked.

"Who knows? He knew me longer and we've known you for a month or so. Could be a trust issue."

"Could be."

"…so…"

"So?"

"…did you break the flashlight?"

"For the third time, no!" Roslyn laughed and Ben frowned.

"I'm sorry, okay? Just messing with ya."

"Jeez, Roslyn…"

"Don't judge me. Not my fault…I didn't break the light."

"You know what? I'm not even gonna acknowledge that."

"Aww, c'mon Benny!"

"Stop with the nickname!"

"But your reactions are funny."

"Doesn't matter!" They both stopped talking at the sound of bushes rustling an awful lot. They both stood up, squinting as they tried to see through the thick brush and leaves.

"What…was that?" Roslyn questioned, keeping her voice low.

"Walker?" Ben suggested.

"Couldn't be. We'd have noticed by now."

"Survivor?"

"That could be good or disastrous." A gunshot went off and Roslyn felt a bullet nick her ear.

"Get down!" Roslyn shouted, pushing Ben onto the RV's roof as a few more bullets zoomed above their heads.

"Who are they?!" Ben asked as Roslyn practically shoved him down the ladder.

"Bandits." She growled, putting a couple extra bullets in her gun.

"Lee said someone stole supplies…my guess is that a trade was made. They didn't get their latest package…so they plan to take it."

"Hands up!" A bandit yelled and Roslyn swore as she watched them push open the gate. She fired a shot and it hit one bandit in the shoulder. He screamed profanities at her and another shot Roslyn twice in the arm, casing her to cry out in pain as she crouched down on the pavement.

"Roslyn!" She heard Clementine and Duck's terrified voices as the bandits headed them to the rest of the group.

"YOU DON'T STEAL FROM US!" A bandit yelled, grabbing Roslyn and tossing her beside Carley. The bandits held guns and crossbows to their heads as the leader shouted orders and kicked at the group.

"YOU MADE THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF YOUR LIVES!" He yelled, his tone irritated and impatient.

"Enough of this! Drew, start putting your boot to these doors."

"Hold it!" The head bandit pointed his gun to Lee as he walked slowly out of one of the rooms with his hands up.

"Take it easy…" Lee said calmly, "We have more supplies. We can keep the deal going." '_What?'_ Roslyn was now confused as she soared a look towards Lee. He looked like he was just playing random cards, hoping to get lucky.

"It's too late for that! We ain't giving second chances!"

"It was a mix-up! We'll make it worth your while!"

"…I'm listening."

"What will it take to reach a deal?"

"About twice as much as you've been giving us!" Roslyn zoned out as they continued speaking and her gaze wandered to a room on the upper level of the motel. Around the corner, she just barely saw the barrel of a very familiar rifle. '_Lilly…?' _That's when it hit her. '_He's stalling them…'_

"What're you gawking at?!" A bandit kicked Roslyn in the back and she winced, falling forward as he pressed the gun barrel into her temple. Soon enough, two shot went off as the bandit near Roslyn and his leader fell dead. The group scrambled to hide as the bandits ran for cover, one of the few left alive whistling a signal. Plenty more bandits rushed from the woods and through the gate as bullets and arrows alike whizzed through the air. Carley dragged Roslyn behind the couch left outside and began firing under its cover.

"Roslyn?! Are you okay? Talk to me!" Carey shouted whilst she shot.

"I'm…I'm fine…" Roslyn gingerly held her arm, hissing at the pain of the two bullet wounds as blood seeped through the fabric of her sweatshirt.

"You need help!" Lee finished off the bandits near them and Carley lifted Roslyn up as Ben ran behind them towards the RV.

"Get inside and stay there, both of you! I'm gonna help Lee!" Carley ordered.

"No…no! I need to help!" Roslyn said, still grasping her arm.

"Roslyn, they're gonna kill you!" Ben shrieked, holding the girl back from leaving the safety of the RV.

"No! I have to help the kids and Katjaa! Someone has to help Lee and Carley!" As she squirmed and screamed in Ben's grip, Clementine soon entered the RV.

"Roslyn?"

"Clem!" Pushing Ben back, Roslyn let Clementine jump into her arms and hug her, despite the pain it caused.

"Thank goodness you're safe. Where's Duck?"

"I don't know! Katjaa and Duck were running over here, but I don't see them!"

"Clem, stay here!" Roslyn tried to leave, but this time both Ben and Clementine stopped her.

"No! What of they shoot you again?!" Roslyn stopped struggling to look down at Clementine, the child's eyes large and brimming with tears. Katjaa was next to run into the RV with Duck held protectively in her arms as she hopped into the passenger seat. Roslyn sat down at the table near the back of the RV and nodded. Soon enough, Carley and Lee joined them just as the RV started up. Kenny's foot hit the accelerator the moment Lilly jumped in the RV, the door slamming shut as they drove through the fence and over the remaining bodies of bandits and walkers. Roslyn looked out the back window and watched as the motel became smaller and smaller until it was completely out of sight.

_**Okay! I'm gonna give you guys some scenarios on the shooting the girl/letting her suffer option. If you shoot her, Roslyn's gonna like you/Lee more and Kenny's gonna throw a hissy fit. If you don't, Roslyn's gonna hold a grudge and give you the silent treatment, especially with the flashlight. If you don't do anything, well, she chooses for you. There's also taking her or Kenny's side with the saving Larry situation. You can guess what would happen. Until next time, we'll see how our group is doing!**_


	8. I'll Miss You…

Chapter 8

Roslyn sat quietly in the back of the RV, looking at everyone and sharing the same worried expression. The silence, save for a few occasional words, was thick enough to be cut with a knife, the RV's engine the only sound amongst the group. Lilly stood above them all, sending a glare everyone's way before speaking in a low voice.

"We need to figure out how this happened. We just lost everything."

"Well, we're lucky to have this RV!" Kenny remarked as he drove.

"And nobody died." Carley added, glancing over at Roslyn worriedly.

"Kat's head is split open!" Katjaa persisted she was fine at the statement, Duck cradled in her arms.

"Somebody in here caused this."

"Settle down back there, the bandits have had our number for weeks!"

"This is different. Somebody was working with them and whoever it was was slipping them our meds. They didn't get their last package, so they attacked."

"Calm down back there! That's nuts!"

"Lee found a bag of supplies hidden outside the wall." Lee nodded, confirming Lilly's statement his eyes downcast.

"He confirmed the deal, too, when they had us all at gunpoint." Roslyn pointed out, remembering Lee's distraction.

"So, Carley, is there something you want to say?" Lilly asked quietly, a deadly calm tone to her voice.

"Please." Carley scoffed at the accusation.

"We have to get it out of you then?"

"Back off."

"You're in no position to make demands."

"Carley wouldn't do that and you know it, Lilly." Roslyn defended.

"You say that, but the bullet wounds in your arm tell a different story."

"A bandit shot me, not Carley."

"No? Whoever was part of the deal is the reason for those injuries."

"Shut up."

"Carley's trustworthy. She's not a traitor, Lilly." Lee proclaimed.

"Thank you." Carley said before turning back to Lilly.

"She can fight her own battles. Unless there's something going on here that implicates you both." Lilly murmured, eyes locked on Carley and Lee.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Look, maybe we should, uh, vote or something like that." Ben suggested, looking away timidly under Lilly's gaze.

"Maybe if you stopped pointing fingers at everyone, we wouldn't have an issue." Roslyn remarked.

"I know what Lee found."

"That doesn't give you the right to be the judge, jury, and executioner of your own little court! Look, if we keep our heads, we can figure this out."

"Nobody was stealing anything!" Ben persisted.

"Was it both of you?" Lilly asked in an icy voice, venom directed towards Ben and Carley, "I've seen you two together. Was it both of you?"

"Look, just let me out. I didn't do it, but I don't like this. I don't like where it's headed."

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn't have anything to do with it."

"Lilly, lay off of him." Carley demanded, trying to keep her tone calm and collected as she spoke. Before anyone could say anything else, the RV was sent straight into a walker and everyone stopped.

"What's going on out there?"

"I hit something! We've gotta stop!" Kenny called back as he pulled over onto the side of the desolate road.

"All right, we can deal with this now then."

"Kenny, is it safe?" Lee asked.

"Should be."

"Everybody out." Lilly ordered impatiently.

"Lilly…"

"Out." Lilly pushed open the door to the RV, exiting before everyone else. Roslyn stood up and exchanged a look with Carley.

"It's fine." Carley reassured as she climbed out of the vehicle behind Lee and Ben. She was the last to leave the RV, Katjaa and Duck staying in their seat as Clementine stood quietly in the doorway.

"The RV has some surface damage, but there's a walker trapped underneath." Lilly noted after looking under the vehicle. Kenny swore under his breath as he knelt down to deal with the problem.

"Everyone keep your eyes peeled." He said.

"You know what?" Lilly started, turning to Ben with an accusing stare, "We shouldn't just kick you out, we should hear what everyday thinks."

"I think you should chill out." Ben stated fearfully.

"I'm with Ben on this one. You seriously need to calm down and stop acting like you're the only innocent party here." Roslyn growled.

"Oh? And how do we know you didn't do it?" Lilly retorted.

"I should be asking you the same thing."

"Look, I didn't do it. You, Ben, or Carley, however…"

"Well, I can say with the upmost confidence that WE didn't do it."

"There's no way it was Carley. It was s embody else. It could've even been someone sneaking into our camp." Lee suggested.

,That's ridiculous. That's what you think?"

"It's not as ridiculous as Ben or Carley robbing us." Roslyn commented, earning another icy cold glare from Lilly.

"Fine then. Kenny?" She growled.

"I don't know! Just, stop, would ya?!" Kenny replied.

"Well, your vote counts for you and Katjaa."

"Because she apparently can't vote for herself." Roslyn muttered angrily under her breath.

"We don't need all these votes! What do I have to do for you to trust me?! I'll do anything!" Ben yelled.

"He's broken, Lilly." Lee mumbled.

"I can see that." She muttered in reply.

"Ben, just calm down. We're not getting rid of you, do you hear me?" Roslyn said, resting a hand on Ben's shoulder reassuringly. He looked down at her, eyes wide and frightened, but he nodded and Roslyn felt him relax a bit.

"Do we need anymore evidence than this?!" Lilly shouted, pointing at Ben.

"Stop treating him like this!" Carley and Roslyn yelled in unison.

"Shut up, both of you! Ugh, I've heard enough from you two! Kenny, what's it gonna be?"

"Just give me a minute!" Kenny stated as he continued busying himself with the walker.

"Ben, you have until that walker is dealt with to tell me it was them and not you!" "Stop this! You're torturing him!" Carley demanded.

"Lilly, lay off." Lee agreed with Carley. Roslyn stood there silently beside Ben, trying to calm him down as she glanced over at Clementine. She seemed sufficiently concerned and afraid of the whole situation and, honestly, who could blame her? The argument continued raging on, turning into a shouting match between Lilly and Carley as the teens, along with Clementine, looked on fearfully. Roslyn jumped slightly at the sound of a skull crunching beneath Kenny's shoes and turned around. The walker was done. '_Time's up.' _

"Now, what the heck's the problem?" Kenny questioned.

**Bang.**

"NO!" Roslyn shrieked, falling to the ground beside Carley and setting her limp, lifeless body in her lap.

"NO…no…no…no…no…!" She weeped quietly, her tears hitting Carley's face as she shook violently. Sniffling, Roslyn looked up for a moment and could barely process the sight of the gun in Lilly's hand, still pointed at Carley's head. Lee furiously grabbed Lilly and slammed her against the side of the RV, glaring at her viciously.

"DROP IT." He growled. Lilly's eyes widened as she stared at the handgun she held firmly in her grip, watching it slowly fall to the ground. Everyone seemed in a rush as they called out to one another and tried to avoid looking at Carley's dead body, but to Roslyn, time just slowed down. She sobbed and sobbed, unable to control herself as the tears fell and the group raged at Lilly. Despite her blurred vision, Roslyn saw Clementine standing in shock, her wide eyes filled with sorrow as she stared at Roslyn and Carley. Turning her head away, Roslyn gazed down at Carley and shut lifeless her eyes before setting her down softly in the grass. As she stared down at Carley, she could barely hear the argument ensuing as the rest of them tried to decided what to do with Lilly as she pleased with Lee and Kenny not to leave her behind, saying she'd die. Roslyn stood up, her legs shaking underneath her, and turned to Lilly with a cold glare.

"I don't want you with us." She muttered, trying to hold back her tears as she wiped her eyes.

"Please, Roslyn–"

"Didn't you hear me?! You're a murderer Lilly! You killed…" Roslyn took a deep, shaky breath before continuing, her gaze locked on the ground, "I refuse to let you stay…you did this…why? Carley was a good person! She never did anything to you…and you just…killed her off."

"Please…I don't have anything left…" Everyone turned from Lilly to Roslyn, awaiting whatever the anguished teen had to say next.

"NO! Just…no. I'm sorry." Roslyn hurried into the RV before she could break down again, leaving them all standing there in temporary silence. Roslyn sat at the back of the RV as she had earlier and rested her arms on the table, letting her head fall into her arms as she cried. Soon enough, everyone else entered the RV and they drove off, leaving Lilly in the road without a second glance. Roslyn stiffened and became silent when she felt someone sit beside her, looking up from her arms to see Ben. He said nothing but Roslyn saw the sympathy in his eyes before she faced away from him. She tried to stop crying when she felt Ben's hand on her shoulder, like he was attempting to comfort her. Looking back at him, she saw the sorrowful look her have her and decided to accept his comfort. She needed it. Subconsciously, Roslyn leaned on Ben and choked back more tears as he stiffened and awkwardly tried to comfort her, wrapping an arm around her and resting it on her shot arm. She hissed and he instinctively let go, but still allowed Roslyn to lean on him. Eventually, hours later, her tears stopped and Roslyn sat there, broken, until she lulled herself to sleep.

….….

Roslyn's eyes opened slowly and she looked around, confused, at her surroundings. She was in what looked like a park, with trees and benches and a small path. It looked…alive. Unnatural, thinking back to what the world was currently. She stood up, looking around nervously and rubbing her injured arm. She gazed at her arm in shock, not feeling any blood or the bullet holes from an enraged bandit.

"Roslyn…" She spun in a slow circle, taking everything in with a sense of wonder as well as confusion.

"Roslyn…" Turning, she looked around with a puzzled expression as she heard a familiar voice call her name. Her eyes widened when she spotted three figures on a bench not far from where she stood, all waving her over.

"Roslyn…" Tears brimmed in her dark eyes as she sprinted towards the trio, leaping into the arms of one who stood up. She sobbed quietly into the person's chest as they ran a hand through her hair soothingly, the other two standing up to calm her down.

"I t-thought…I thought I l-lost you…a-all of you." Roslyn stammered softly, looking up into the warm brown eyes of Carley.

"You never did. We're all here with you." Carley murmured as Roslyn looked over at the other two individuals. Her parents. She soon let go of Carley and hugged them tightly, never wanting to let them go.

"I missed you…" She sniffled.

"We know, sweet pea. We know." Her mother said.

"But you…all of you…I know…you're–"

"We're here, Roslyn. There's nothing to be afraid of. We've always been here." Her father interrupted.

"N-No…I can't believe that…I KNOW…"

"We would never leave you." Roslyn as down beside her parents and Carley, not believing anything. Not a single word.

"So…you're alive?" Roslyn's dad gave her a somber look and held her face in his hands, not even uttering a word to her.

"…"

"I knew it…" Roslyn closed her eyes as she felt her mother hold her close. Opening her eyes, Roslyn cried out at the sight of her parents and Carley all undead, staring back at her calmly as the world darkened around them. They lunged and Roslyn screamed, eyes shutting tightly.

….….

Roslyn's eyes popped open and she gasped for air, listening to the sound if her heart pound against her ribcage furiously. She shook and wrapped her arms around herself as she let the nightmare fully sink in._ 'Mom…dad…Carley…dead. There's nothing I can do.' _

"Roslyn? Are you okay?" Roslyn looked up at realizing she was laying down and could barely see Ben from where she lay. From what she could tell, she was laying on the seat with her head on Ben's lap.

"Y-Yeah…I'm fine." Roslyn stuttered as she sat up uneasily. Looking out the window, she noticed the RV had stopped near a train track and they were parked in front of a train.

"Where are we?"

"Dunno. Kenny stopped a minute ago because of the train." Ben explained as the rest of the group exited the RV quietly.

"Let's get moving then." Roslyn got out of the seat and stood up, holding her arm gingerly. Surprised, she looked down to notice her sweatshirt was gone and her wound was bandaged.

"Katjaa and Lee fixed you up while you were asleep. They thought it was too risky when you were…"

"Broken?"

"…yeah. That."

"Don't worry about it. I'm should be fine now." Roslyn left the RV with Ben trailing behind her and gazed at the train.

"Is there any way to get around it?" Lee asked.

"Doesn't look like it. On foot, maybe. Can't really afford to do that now." Kenny said in reply.

"This seems like a safe area. All this brush will stop anything from creeping up on us." As everyone settled down somewhere, calm for the time being, Roslyn and Ben walked over to Lee.

"We could have a look around." Roslyn suggested.

"Yeah, everyone else relax. Clementine, stay close to Kenny and Katjaa, okay?" Lee said, crouching down to Clementine's height. She nodded and walked over to Katjaa, who still had Duck cradled protectively in her arms. _'Did something happen to him?'_ Roslyn wondered worriedly as she followed Ben and Lee to the train. Lee pushed open the door to the train car and hopped inside, Ben doing the same as Roslyn warily stayed outside.

"Somebody's been living in here." Lee muttered, grabbing Roslyn's interest.

"No kidding?" She asked as she climbed into the train car.

"Think they're gone?" Ben questioned as he and Roslyn looked around the car, filled with obvious signs of life.

"I'd hope. Still, this stuff looks recently used. We should keep our guard up." Ben nodded and left the train, leaving Lee and Roslyn to search through it. Roslyn spotted a water bottle and picked it up, turning it over in her hands as the water swished around inside.

"Great." She murmured, smiling slightly.

"You know, Katjaa said Duck needed something to drink. She'd be thankful for that." Lee remarked. Roslyn looked at Lee and the bottle in her hands before sighing quietly.

"I'll give it to him. He needs it more than most of us, it seems." Roslyn exited the car silently as she scurried over to where Katjaa and Duck sat on a log beside Clementine. She smiled to Clementine, who seemed awfully interested in Duck and his distressed state. '_Something's up._' Roslyn confirmed, clearing her throat awkwardly to get Katjaa's attention.

"I, uh…got some water for Duck. Lee said he needed it?"

"Yes, thank you." Katjaa said gratefully, taking the bottle from Roslyn's hands.

"Did something…happen? To Duck, I mean." Roslyn inquired as she sat down.

"He…was bitten."

"What?! How?"

"It happened during the raid. A walker got us and, well, you can guess what happened."

"No…that can't be it…" Roslyn's gaze travelled to Duck, looking weak and tired as his skin became pale. Her eyes widened at the sight of the red, bruised bite mark on Duck's side.

"Duck? Buddy, can you hear me?" Roslyn immediately turned her attention to Duck, putting a hand to his forehead gently as she spoke. Duck nodded, though faintly, and opened his eyes a bit more to see Roslyn.

"How are you feeling, buddy?"

"Not good…"

"Are you thirsty? I got you some water in the train back there." Duck nodded and Roslyn saw him try to smile. Roslyn held out her hand to Katjaa and grasped the water bottle when she handed it to her. Unscrewing the cap, Roslyn carefully tilted Duck's head up and put the water to his lips, letting the poor child drink the water.

"That make things a bit better?" Duck nodded again, giving Roslyn a weak smile.

"Thank you…"

"Don't mention it, buddy." Roslyn said softly, ruffling his hair as she gave him a reassuring grin.

"Thanks, Roslyn." Katjaa said softly.

"It's nothing. If anything, I should be thanking you."

"For what?"

"Bandaging me up. I'm not even sure how much blood I lost, so that or infection could have killed me."

"You're welcome. You need help, but I had to wait until you were asleep. You looked like you needed to be alone for a while."

"I'm…fine."

"…I know Carley meant a lot to you, she almost seemed like family."

"Yeah, she kinda was. To me, at least."

"She meant a lot to you and Lee. I'm so sorry, Roslyn."

"…don't apologize for something that wasn't your fault. You have enough to worry about." Roslyn sat quietly and listened as Kenny and Lee tried to start up the train. They'd found out that it still worked, so they had a ride.

"Can you tell me where my sweatshirt is?" Roslyn asked Katjaa, shivering slightly and rubbing her arms.

"Last I checked, Clementine took it." Katjaa answered simply, glancing over at said child. Roslyn nodded and scooted closer to Clementine, looking down at the little girl as she tried to warm herself up. '_Tank top…bad idea on my part.'_ Roslyn thought, looking down at her black and white striped top before turning her attention back to Clementine.

"Hey Clem, do you have my sweatshirt?"

"Oh! Yeah, I put it in my bag!" Clementine stated, taking off her small backpack and searching through it.

"Here you go." She took out the rumpled article of clothing and handed it to Roslyn, smiling.

"Thanks Clem. Why'd you have it in your backpack, anyway?"

"I wanted to hold into it for you. You looked warm, so I didn't want you to lose it and took it."

"That's sweet. Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Roslyn smiled and ruffled Clementine's hair slightly as she began pulling on her sweatshirt. She stopped halfway through, noticing Clementine shiver just slightly as the breeze picked up and huddle closer to Roslyn. Roslyn frowned and looked at the sweatshirt in her hands. With a sigh, she pulled the sweatshirt over Clementine's head and adjusted her hat as the little girl looked up at Roslyn in surprise.

"Are you giving me your hoodie?"

"Yeah. You need it more than I do."

"But aren't you cold?"

"Eh, the cold never bothered me much anyway." Clementine beamed up at Roslyn and threw her arms around her in a hug. Roslyn stiffened, but slowly relaxed as she awkwardly returned Clementine's hug.

"It's a bit big for me though, isn't it?" Clementine said, gesturing to the hoodie that nearly fit like a dress on her with sleeves that covered her hands.

"That's because it isn't your size. We can fix it a bit, though." Roslyn chuckled as she rolled up the sleeves so Clementine could use her hands. Taking out one of her hair ties, she proceeded to tie the back of the hoodie slightly so it fit a bit more comfortably on Clementine.

"Better?"

"I'd say so. Thank you!"

"You're welcome, Clem."

"Hey Roslyn."

"Yeah?"

"How far any is Savannah?"

"I'd tell you if I knew, but I want to assume it's only a train ride away."

"Do you think we'll find my parents?" Roslyn looked down at Clementine, prepared to hit her with the likely truth of the situation, but as she stared back at Clementine's huge, hopeful eyes, she couldn't.

"I think we will. They'll be glad to see you." Clementine grin eased the dreary feeling Roslyn felt as she huddled beside Roslyn. _'We're gonna find her parents._' Roslyn glanced over at Clementine, the smile never leaving the girl's face. '_I can't believe Clem is the one person keeping me sane.'_

_**Yep. That happened. Poor Roslyn! She's losing everybody! This is gonna be a heck of a lot worse, though. I mean, what good comes out of an apocalypse? Okay, a thought I had when I was writing was, "if Roslyn was an actual character, who would voice her?" Well, I like to imagine it would be Jen Taylor and if you don't know of her voice acting, google! Basically, for a voice, imagine it's Jen Taylor. (Merry Christmas!) **_


	9. Sorry, Duck

Chapter 9

"So you've been living on this train for how long?" Roslyn asked Chuck curiously. They'd met the homeless man while Lee was checking out the train and he was more than surprised to find out about Chuck.

"Don't know. A bit before this whole mess started, I should think." He answered from where he sat beside Katjaa and Clementine. Roslyn sat beside Ben as he quietly ate a box of candy Chuck had given him, along with Clementine and Roslyn.

"Hmm…ya know this train leads to Savannah, right?"

"Yeah." "And we're headed for Savannah."

"Sounds right."

"And this train could help us…"

"I know you wanna take the train and I won't stop you."

"What? Are you serious? But what about you? This train looks like it's been your home to the last several months."

"It has and it is. I never said I'm not joining you, if you'll have me anyway."

"It's the least we can do, considering Kenny wants to take the train."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Lee!" Clementine jumped up and ran as Lee approached them, the little girl smiling as she rushed to greet him.

"Did you meet Chuck?"

"Yeah, I did." Lee replied.

"It's nice to meet someone normal for a change." Katjaa remarked.

"He gave us candy! Roslyn and Ben too!" Clementine proclaimed, Ben freezing up as Lee looked over at him and Roslyn. Roslyn gave him a nervous smile and hid said box of candy behind her back.

"I didn't eat any." She admitted, putting her hands up in surrender as Ben nervously looked around. Lee shook his head before running his attention back to Chuck, nodding toward him.

"Welcome."

"Thank ya."

"You met Kenny?" "Sure did. Man shares my love of the road."

"That's for certain." Duck began to couch, Katjaa patting his back gently as they turned towards the infected child.

"I'm awfully sorry your son's not feeling good." Chuck said sincerely, kneeling down beside Katjaa and Duck with a sympathetic expression.

"I appreciate your concern." Katjaa thanked, offering him a weak smile.

"We'll, with a little TLC I'm sure he'll be fit as a fiddle in no time." He stood up as Kenny walked over to the group, giving a small nod.

"And I can offer y'all whatever I've got, although it ain't much."

"Thank you…we'd like to do the same."

"Why don't we hold off on…" Kenny started, looking down at his family with concern as Katjaa interrupted him.

"Stay with us. We'd like the company." Without giving a response, Kenny walked off to inspect the train, leaving the rest of the group sitting calmly together.

"You play guitar?" Roslyn asked, looking at the guitar in Chuck's hands curiously as he strummed it quietly.

"Always have."

"Wish I could play guitar."

"Could teach ya, if things ever calm down."

"Really?"

"I'd be glad to."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Roslyn smiled slightly before glancing over at their group. '_It's so empty without Carley…Doug…Glenn…Mark…even Larry. We've lost too many…' _She thought as she saw everyone's withered and anxious expressions. Lee was checking up on everyone, Kenny checking the train, Katjaa watching Duck, while Clementine sat quietly beside Chuck as he played his guitar, leaving Roslyn and Ben sitting there in silence.

"So…" Roslyn started awkwardly, trying to make conversation.

"So?" Ben said, raising an eyebrow.

"Cool train, huh?"

"Yeah. Too bad I'm stuck here instead of working on it."

"It's the apocalypse, Ben. Don't start getting an attitude."

"I'm sorry. I just want to be doing something important."

"Helping me watch Clem and Duck is pretty important."

"It's not getting us anywhere."

"Someone needs to get their boxers out of a knot. What's gotten into you lately? Ever since we left the motel, you've been quiet and now when you talk to any of us, all we get is attitude or silence."

"It's complicated."

"What isn't these days? Seriously, what's up with you?"

"It's nothing, Roslyn."

"Ben…" Ben turned his gaze away from Roslyn and she frowned, "You know you can trust me, right?"

"…I know, but that still doesn't mean people trust ME."

"So it's about the motel, huh? I should've known…Ben, it's in the past. We all know you didn't do it. It was the bandits who were at fault." When Ben didn't respond, Roslyn sighed as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Ben, at least look at me." He didn't move and Roslyn stood up, gazing down at him solemnly.

"Fine. Just…you know where to find me if you wanna talk." Kenny and Lee proceeded to walk over to them and tell them the train was ready, much to Roslyn's relief.

"Let's go." Kenny said as they all headed for the train and piled in one by one. Roslyn carefully lifted Clementine up and into the train car before following suit. She listened to the argument between Lee and Kenny about Duck's…situation and frowned as she heard Kenny's adamant state of denial. '_He's bit…there's nothing we can do.' _Katjaa and Duck soon entered the car as Lee and Kenny went to start up the train, the locomotive soon moving gradually down the tracks as the familiar scenery passed behind them. Roslyn sat quietly at the back of the train car with her knees pulled up to her chest as she stared outside at the passing trees and occasional walker. Chuck and Lee stood at one side, looking outside, with Katjaa, Duck, and Clementine on the other as Ben sat alone near the door.

"Got to be hard on ya, eh? Three adults taking care of four kids." Chuck said as he turned to Ben and Roslyn, "No disrespect to the pair of you."

"None taken." Roslyn muttered as Ben frowned and looked a the floor.

"We'll be fine. We've gone through just as much as anybody else." Lee replied calmly.

"Those two are gonna grow up quick. The girl sooner, obviously." Roslyn couldn't help but smirk at the comment as Ben pouted with a look of frustration.

"I'm already grown up." He mumbled irritatedly.

"I don't doubt it, son." Roslyn jumped up as Duck began to cough, blood seeping from his lips as Katjaa desperately tried to stop it.

"Lee! Roslyn! I need you. Right now. I need you to go get Ken." Katjaa said pleadingly as Roslyn rushed over to her side.

"What's…" Lee started as he knelt beside Katjaa and Roslyn worriedly.

"Would you get that off his face? My hands are full here." Lee was about to reach for a rag on the floor near them, but Roslyn quickly snatched it up.

"I've got this. You need to get Kenny." Roslyn stated as she wiped Duck's face gently, cleaning it of most of the blood splatter. Lee watched in silence as Roslyn worked, her worried gaze locked on Duck's sickly pale face. She saw his dull gaze stuck to the floor as the life seemed to drain slowly and painfully from him.

"He's out of time." Roslyn murmured, holding the now bloodied rag up to Katjaa and Lee.

"Kenny needs to stop the train, but he's in denial."hnn

"I'll take care of it." Lee said, taking the rag from Roslyn's hands with a solemn nod.

"Make it fast. Please." With another understanding nod, Lee left the train car to find Kenny.

"Thank you, Roslyn." Katjaa said.

"Don't mention it. I just…I just want what's best for Duck. For the group." Roslyn said quietly.

"I know you do and that's good. You're a very sweet girl, Roslyn. A lot like Clementine, actually."

"If I was, I wouldn't deserve any of this. You, Duck, Clementine, Lee, Ben, and Kenny…you all deserve better. Especially you and Kenny." "

Thank you. I'm…I'm going to miss him so much…" Katjaa seemed close to tears as she spoke, but kept her calm yet somber disposition.

"I know…we won't let him become a walker. I can imagine you'd never want that, as a parent."

"I thought the same thing, that I cannot allow my son to be one of those things."

"It's for the best."

"…I know. I love him and Kenny more than anything. More than life itself, even."

"It's your child, so that's pretty understandable."

"I just wish things could be different."

"…we all do." The train pulled to a slow stop and Roslyn gave Katjaa a sad smile as she stood up.

"Lee did it. We should get going." Katjaa nodded and followed Roslyn out of the car silently. Duck's breathing was shallow and his dull eyes were slowly closing as his body tried to fight the infection.

"Ken, it's…I think it's time." Katjaa said quietly as Kenny and Lee walked up, running a hand gently through Duck's hair.

"The boy's been bit. In case you haven't figured that out." Kenny said to Chuck, who nodded his head in understanding before turning his gaze away from Kenny and his family.

"Take as much time as you need." Lee said softly, looking at Duck sadly. "

There ain't no time left to take." Kenny looked as his wife sorrowfully, his gaze lingering to Duck for a moment.

"What're we gonna do?"

"We can't allow him to become one of those things." Katjaa mumbled in reply.

"But what if…what if he doesn't?"

"Kenny, he's gone. I know that's hard to accept…for both you and Katjaa. Still, there's only one thing we can do in a situation like this." Roslyn said, her eyes downcast as she spoke.

"She's right. Kenny, I love you very much. I love our son more than life itself. I need you to hear me. What you are saying, that he may not turn, is foolish."

"But–"

"No."

"There's…come on Kat. There's gotta be another way."

"If you think of one, you let me know."

"Isn't there some sort of pill of something we can just give him? He can just drift off to sleep, right hon? I mean, jeez, this is our son."

"I KNOW. But it's…here." Katjaa pointed to her head, "Or nothing."

"Well…just…who then? You want me to?"

"I'll do it." Roslyn said, barely above a whisper, as she raised her hand.

"Roslyn, we can't ask you to do that." Katjaa stated.

"You don't need to. I don't want you or Kenny to do this and no one else is gonna volunteer. I can do this."

"No, Roslyn–"

"I'll do it." Lee proclaimed.

"No, it should be a parent."

"No parent should have to do something like this."

"Lee's right, Kat. We should say our goodbyes and…" Kenny couldn't continue and Roslyn could feel the tears he was choking back.

"Lee, you'd be doing this family a great service."

"You should take him into the forest." Roslyn suggested.

"Yeah. Lee, give us a minute to say our goodbyes?"

"Of course." Lee said somberly. Katjaa and Kenny proceeded to take Duck into the woods, a silence hanging heavily in the air. Roslyn couldn't even look up from the ground, keeping her hands in her pockets as she listened to the leaves rustling.

"What's happening?" Clementine asked softly, looking up at Lee and Roslyn. Roslyn shot a look to Lee, not wanting to talk about nor explain the situation…especially to Clem.

"I'm gonna take care of Duck."

"I thought he was going to die."

"I'm putting him out of his misery."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Look, Clem, things will–" A bang sounded through the forest and everyone jumped, both shocked and wary of the sudden gunshot.

"NO!" Kenny cried as birds soared from the treetops in fright.

"Ben! Roslyn! Take Clementine into the train!" Lee ordered before running off into the woods towards the source of Kenny's scream. Ben was instantly by Roslyn's side, trying to usher Clementine into the train but looking at Roslyn knowingly.

"We have to get her on the train, Roslyn. This is their battle, not yours." He said, still attemptIng to get Clementine to move. The child wouldn't budge from where she stood as she looked up at Roslyn worriedly, placing her hand in Roslyn's own.

"Roslyn? We have to go." Roslyn glanced down at the girl and sighed, turning away to look at the forest. '_It's so quiet now…what happened?'_ She wondered.

"Roslyn?"

"Let's just board the train, 'kay Clem?" Clementine nodded and Roslyn lifted her up into the train gingerly, careful to make certain she didn't get hurt somehow. She, Chuck, and Ben soon followed, finding a spot in the abandoned train car whilst they waited for the others to return. Clementine sat close to Roslyn, snuggling into her side until the older girl draped an arm around her protectively. Chuck sat at the edge of the doorway, staring into the forest silently as if he expected something to be horribly wrong. '_And he's probably right.'_ Roslyn thought. Ben remained standing not far from Roslyn and Clementine and kept an eye on them. It was odd though, especially considering how…off he seemed. '_Come to think of it, he's been quiet ever since Katjaa and I were talking. Heck, even in the RV something was wrong. That kid's a puzzle sometimes.'_ As Roslyn let her thoughts wander, time seemed to go by faster, yet freeze all at once. She heard the gunshot fire and echo through the trees as she brought Clementine closer to her on instinct, the child accepting the action and hiding her face in Roslyn's side. '_Rest in peace, bud._' Roslyn thought sadly, images of Duck going through her mind as the group waited with bated breath. Lee and Kenny soon returned with sorrowful expressions, tears streaking Kenny's face as he made his way back to the front of the train in silence.

….….

The train thundered down the tracks, the group having been so affected by the day's events that they had gradually spread out on the train. Lee just entered the car, shutting the door behind him that had a window where they could see a somber looking Ben. Roslyn was curled up near a few crates and boxes with her backpack at her side in the farthest corner of the car, wanting to be left alone for a time. Duck's death had shaken her to the core, having only been a child who was bitten and taken out. She watched as Lee immediately took a seat beside Clementine at the edge of the entryway, speaking to her in a soft and calm tone. Though, that calmness vanished when Roslyn noticed how suddenly angry he became at something Clementine had said to him. He stood up and stomped out of the car looking for Chuck, leaving the rest of them in the dreary train car with a thick silence in the air. Any other time, she would be chatting with Clementine or Ben, pretending for a moment that everything was like it was the way before everything came tumbling down and the world practically ended. Now that Duck, a child and Roslyn's friend, had died, everything felt darker. Yes, the world was in an apocalypse and she'd seen death plenty of times, but she'd lost Carley on the same day and Duck brought such optimism to the group that he managed to make her smile when everything seemed pointless. Lee soon re-entered the car and Roslyn watched him talk with Clementine, eventually sitting behind her and beginning to cut her hair. Poor Clementine seemed upset as Lee snipped away her hair as it grew shorter and shorter. '_What did Chuck say to him?_' Roslyn wondered, as she sat in silence and watched Lee tie back a few stray hairs before handing Clementine her hat. Lee noticed Roslyn staring and soon walked over, kneeling down to look her in the eyes as he spoke.

"Hey Roslyn. How you holding up?"

"Things could be better." Roslyn replied simply.

"True. Still, what are ya doing back here by yourself? You're usually talking with Clementine or Ben."

"I don't feel like talking. Too much has happened in only a few hours. None of us can really handle it, even if we try to convince ourselves we can. Ben, Clem, Kenny, even you and I are broken up for similar yet entirely different reasons."

"Now, don't go assuming something so depressing."

"I know you loved Carley." Lee's eyes widened as he looked at Roslyn with surprise, unable to utter a word as she continued.

"She loved you too, even if she never said it. She would talk about you when you were gone…she did really like you. Even with your past, she saw through it. I only wish she could've told you."

"…thank you for that, Roslyn. Still, what you're saying about us all being broken…it ain't true."

"No? Have you even talked to Kenny or Ben?"

"Kenny is upset for reasons we can all understand. Ben, he's still shaken up after what happened at the motel."

"What about you and Clem?"

"She's just a little girl, Roslyn. She's never had to deal with anything like what she has in the past few months. Me, well, I try to keep going. I have to, for you and Clementine. We've made it this far and I don't intend on giving up."

"I understand you staying alive for Clementine, but me? Why? I'm nineteen, Lee. I can take care of myself."

"Nineteen?"

"My birthday was at least a month ago, I think. Still, I'm old enough to fend for myself without someone feeling they need to take care of me."

"Remember back at the motel? You got shot in the arm. If it wasn't for someone caring about you, that wound would've gotten infected. When we left Lilly, you seemed to angry to think straight. What if that happened again? What would happen to you?"

"What's your point?"

"We need to stick together to survive. None of us can assume we'd be better off on our own, 'cause we wouldn't be."

"…I just want everything to be the way it was before…" Roslyn murmured, her gaze downcast as she hugged her knees closer to her chest and Lee looked at her sadly.

"I know." He said, giving Roslyn a comforting hug. She tensed up at first, but slowly relaxed and laid her head on his shoulder before he pulled away.

"Why'd you cut Clementine's hair?" She asked suddenly, tilting her head to the side.

"Safety reasons." Lee answered with a smile.

"If you're talking safety, she should probably be able to use a gun."

"Funny, that's exactly wheat Chuck told me. I planned on teaching her, but I can't have her shoot anything with you back here."

"I'll move if you let me help."

"Deal." Then, for the first time that day, Roslyn managed a faint, yet genuine, smile.


	10. Another Bump in the Road

Chapter 10

Clementine yelled when she pulled the trigger of the gun yet again, jumping slightly as the bullet lodged itself into a box.

"You almost had it that time! Just try it again, this time a bit higher." Roslyn said gently, raising Clementine's arms and helping her aim.

"I've done this five times! What if I can't get figure this out?" Clementine whined with a disappointed pout.

"Hey, you shot it once with Lee's help. Remember his advice?"

"Squeeze the trigger steadily."

"And my advice?"

"Don't put your hand on the trigger or aim if you don't plan to shoot."

"Good job, Clem. Now, just breath slowly and stay relaxed. If you're too nervous or shaky, you'll miss." Clementine nodded, turning back to the bottle, trying to steady her breathing as Roslyn covered her ears. Clementine fired, and she soon beamed when the bottle exploded into small glass fragments on the floor as the bullet soared through it.

"I did it! Just like you told me!" Clementine exclaimed, bouncing on the soles of her shoes as Roslyn smiled only slightly down at her.

"See? I knew you could do it, Clem! With some practice, maybe you can learn to shoot like Lee or Kenny." Roslyn stated, ruffling Clementines hair.

"You think so?"

"I know so." Clementine smiled wider and hugged Roslyn, the older girl not hesitating as she hugged her in return.

"So, any other tips Chuck gave you?" Roslyn asked, turning to Lee once Clementine released her.

"We'll need to come up with a plan once we get to Savannah. I'll need to look for a map or something." Lee replied.

"I think that's a good idea." Clementine remarked.

"Can we help out?" Roslyn inquired.

"How about you two try to come up with something while I search the train. We all know Kenny's unstable now, so it's best if you stay here."

"Cmon, we can help."

"Roslyn, I need you to stay with Clementine. Understood?"

"But–"

"Understood?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Thanks. If either of you need me, you'll know where I am." With that, Lee left the car sky only Clementine and Roslyn stood there in temporary silence.

"You have any ideas what we should do first when we get over there?" Roslyn asked as she and Clementine both took a seat near the sliding doors of the train car.

"We have to look for my parents and your dad." Clementine answered, almost as if it were that obvious and simple.

"But what about finding a boat to get to safety? Doesn't that seem like the best option?"

"I don't care. I want to find my mom and dad. Yours too."

"Clementine, you need to understand that my dad is probably…he's probably long gone by now."

"How can you say that? Just because you haven't seen him, doesn't mean he's not alive."

"What're the chances that he's okay, Clem? And if we find him along with your parents, then what?"

"We bring them with us."

"Everything isn't so simple, Clementine…."

"But this is. I know they're out there and they're trying to find us like we're trying to find them! Saving people is more important than anything!" Roslyn was prepared to argue, but she noticed the stubbornness swirling in Clementines bright eyes, her lips pursed as she waited for the older girl to speak. Instead, Roslyn just sighed and leaned back so she was laying on the floor of the car.

"I know there's no use debating it. Sure, well try to find everyone once we're in the city, okay?"

"Thank you!" Clementine's face lit up and she grinned from ear to ear, causing Roslyn to hide her own half smile. They only had to wait a moment or so for Lee to return, but it seemed to be taking longer than it should've. Due to this, of course, Roslyn became worried and couldn't help but glance out of the window on the door not far from where she currently laid. Outside, she noticed Lee speaking with Ben, his eyes wide as he spoke frantically to the teenager. _'What happened this time?'_ Roslyn wondered, her body tensing up as horrid scenarios filled her idea to try and answer her question. She shook her head to try and forget her thoughts as she stood up, Clementine raising and eyebrow curiously at her.

"I'm gonna check on Lee and Ben, 'kay Clem?" The child nodded and Roslyn made her way to the door slowly, watching Lee speak to Ben almost secretively.

"Hey guys. Whatcha talking about? Is it something the rest of us should know?" Roslyn asked as she opened the door, Ben and Lee staring at her as she gave them questioning looks.

"Well, actually…" Ben began, but he became silent when Lee gave him an intimidating stare.

"Nothing you should be worried about." Lee responded.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"I'm asking Ben." Ben seemed genuinely surprised at this as Roslyn looked up at him.

"I'm going to ask again. Are you sure there's nothing I should be told?"

"I…well…nothing really, I guess." Ben answered uncertainly. Roslyn pursed her lips and glanced over at Lee.

"You start going over strategy with Clementine. I wanna talk with Ben, okay?" Lee nodded and entered the car where Clementine was waiting, leaving the pair of teens to speak.

"Absolutely _nothing_ I should be concerned about?" Roslyn asked, her tone softer and quieter this time.

"…no." Ben wouldn't look her in the eyes as he spoke.

"Well, if that's the case, are you alright? You've kept to yourself and refused to even look at any of us."

"I'm fine, Roslyn."

"You keep telling me that, but let me tell YOU that you're a horrible liar."

"Roslyn , I've told you enough times–"

"And I've told _you_ enough times that you can tell me anything. I know you're not fine. None of us are. So if you wanna stick with that lie, fine, but don't expect me to believe a word of it!" Roslyn sighed and ran a hand through her hair, leaning on the railing beside Ben as she gazed at him worriedly.

"Roslyn, I can't tell you everything."

"Ben, you're such an idiot! You don't get it, do you? This group, right now, is held together by honesty. Lee admitted he'd murdered someone and Kenny did the same when Duck was bitten. On top of that, whenever I did something like kill a woman on the street, I told you!"

"Roslyn–"

"I never kept anything from any of you, and yet you can't trust me!"

"Roslyn!" Ben grabbed Roslyn's shoulders roughly, cashing her to stop talking as she looked up at him with surprise.

"I DO trust you. I just can't tell you this one thing, alright? You'd hate me and wish I was dead or worse and I can't live with the ONE person who actually trusts me to stop trusting me!"

"Ben…I could never hate you. I've never found a reason to thus far, and I doubt that I ever will."

"Don't say things like that! I know they're not true and you would know what I mean if I told you, but I can't!"

"Why not?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"…you're right. I won't because you won't let me understand."

"That's not what I–!" The train lurched as it came to a screeching halt and Roslyn had to keep Ben from falling over the railing. When the train finally stopped and everyone wasn't being thrown around like rag dolls, Roslyn released her grip on Ben's sleeve as she stared at the ground. Ben looked ready to say something, but shut his mouth as Roslyn climbed down from the train to see why they had stopped. Kenny's loud swearing and the tanker hanging down from the overpass gave her a pretty good idea.

"Calm down, Kenny. We can just walk the rest of the way to Savannah. It can't be more than a few miles from here." Roslyn suggested, hands on her hips as Kenny turned and scowled at her.

"That's probably the most idiotic idea you've had, Roslyn." Kenny grumbled.

"I'm sorry, but do you have a better plan? No? Then stop complaining."

"Don't I have a right to, considering our newest problem?"

"No, because that," Roslyn pointed to the oil tanker with a growl, "is nothing compared to everything else we deal with everyday."

"How do we get to the boats, huh? Unless you can grow a pair of wings, we aren't moving!"

"I ain't got much experience with y'all's fortitude, but we could probably deal with that. We've got a train." Chuck said.

"That tank ain't full of milk, Chuck. That's gas or diesel; something that'll explode."

"YOU gotta get a hold of yourself. This is a crew here."

"This ain't anything."

"Yo! You keep screaming like that and you're gonna get your face chewed off!" Everyone was surprised to hear a man's voice coming from the overpass and looked up to see one standing alongside a taller woman.

"Are you guys gonna be trouble? Because we could just keep walking." The woman said.

"No, we're friendly!" Lee called up to the strangers.

"Don't start anything, Kenny." Roslyn muttered when Kenny raised his hand slightly.

"That's what everybody says." The woman stated.

"We know." The man said something to the woman, though quietly enough that the group on the ground couldn't hear them.

"Better not be plotting against us. We've gone through enough in the past few hours." Roslyn yelled.

"Trust me, we're not." The woman replied.

"How do I know you ain't lying?"

"You don't." Roslyn nodded before the guy spoke up.

"You guys gotta problem with your train?"

"Yeah, you're standing right in front of it." Kenny said in a barely tolerant tone.

"Dude, it's a wreck. It's not so bad from up here. Send up your buddy to have a look, if you want." Lee took a few steps forward until Kenny stopped him, mistrust fogging his eyes.

"Anything goes sideways up there, we won't let them escape." He muttered.

"If I come up there, you better not be murderers or thieves!" Lee called up as he approached the ladder on the side of the overpass.

"I guess you'll have to find out." The woman responded before looking back to speak with the man beside her. Roslyn was already at the ladder, her hands on the rungs, when Ben took hold of her arm.

"You can't go up there! What if they kill you?" He said.

"Then I'll have to be careful." Roslyn replied, trying to shake her arm free from Ben's grip. He didn't let go.

"Roslyn…I'm sorry about what happened on the train."

"Don't worry about it, okay? We'll forget about it tomorrow, I bet, and I promise I'll be fine." Ben nodded and released Roslyn, the girl ruffling his hair before climbing the ladder as fast as she could to catch up with Lee. Once she was at the top, Roslyn peeked over the edge to see Lee speaking with the people.

"Why didn't you stay with the others?" Lee asked as Roslyn climbed up and sat silently on the ground.

"'Cause we don't know them or what they're capable of and you know what happened the last time we met strangers." Roslyn answered.

"At least someone remembers to be wary of new faces." The woman said, smiling somewhat as she looked over at the man. Now that she sat in front of them, Roslyn could see the woman was definitely taller than the man, with dark hair and skin standing out against her brighter clothing.

"I'm sorry, okay? I just think this group is what we need." The man mumbled, dark eyes nearly the color of his hair looking at the ground.

"So, care to explain who you two are?" Roslyn asked, somewhat impatient.

"I'm Omid." The man introduced, offering her a friendly grin.

"And I'm Christa." The woman said with a nod.

"Lee. The girl's Roslyn." Lee said.

"Nice to meet you!" Omid said, earning a smile from Roslyn.

"So, you planning on helping us with the train or what? I mean, we could use the help." Roslyn said.

"We'd be happy to–"

"How do we know we can trust you?" Christa interrupted.

"You don't." Christa actually managed a smile at Roslyn's answer before she nodded. Her eyes, Roslyn noticed, wandered towards the ladder and Roslyn followed it, only to see Clementine climbing up onto the overpass.

"Oh man, you guys have a kid! Do know how long it's been since I've seen a kid? What's your name?" Omid asked excitedly. Roslyn raised an eyebrow at Omid and instinctively put her arms on Clementine's shoulders and brought her closer to her.

"Calm down, Omid." Roslyn said as Omid rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"I'm Clementine." The child introduced quietly, smiling over at Omid and Christa.

"See? Things are looking up!" Omida told Christa, still grinning from ear to ear.

"You aren't her dad. He down there?" Christa asked Lee.

"It's that obvious, huh?"

"To me it is."

"No, he's not down there."

"What about Roslyn? She her sister or something?"

"Nope, hard as it is to believe."

"So, how'd you come across these two girls?"

"I was in an accident when all this started. Actually, I was incarcerated."

"Sick, got any prison tats?" Omid asked, earning a stern look from Christa.

"I didn't make it that far. I met Clementine while trying to find help in her house. We both ran into Roslyn at a pharmacy."

"Everybody down there cool?"

"We're either harmless, depressed, or Chuck. Not much to worry about, so, yeah. I'd say we're cool." Roslyn said with a shrug.

"I'd hope you're harmless."

"Would we be anything else with two stupid teens, a homeless guy, a little girl, and Lee?"

"I suppose not. You're definitely an odd sounding bunch though."

"Trust me, I know. So, you gonna help?"

"Tank's your real problem. Get rid of that and the rest will be easy. Still, if we see anything we don't like, we're outta here."

"Deal. How about you meet the rest of our people, if you're still wary about us." Christa nodded and Roslyn proceeded to lead everyone back down the ladder past their only obstacle to a chance at safety.


End file.
